In March 2025 the administration publicly celebrated the extradition from Guatemala of Moises “Viejo Santos” Rivera-Luna, an alleged MS-13 leader charged with racketeering conspiracy, presenting his arrival on American soil as a signature win.
The case has now failed twice. In August 2026, for the second time in five months, a federal jury could not reach a verdict. Jurors reported deliberating to a “hopeless” impasse, and Judge Royce Lamberth declared a mistrial after 22 witnesses and extensive audio evidence.
The pattern extends past this defendant. D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office has recorded a string of mistrials and acquittals over the year, which legal observers have described as embarrassing for federal prosecutors. One reading offered by those observers is that juries are scrutinising the department's cases more closely than they once did.
A hung jury is not an acquittal and says nothing conclusive about guilt. What it does measure is the gap between how confidently a prosecution was promoted and how it performed in front of citizens who heard the evidence.