Federal immigration agents arrested a Salvadoran man in Alexandria who is wanted back home on charges tied to the rape of a 13-year-old girl, a crime that led to her pregnancy and, ultimately, his conviction in absentia. Diego Armando López Castro remains in ICE custody as removal proceedings move forward, with no removal date yet announced.
DHS said ICE officers arrested López Castro on May 27, 2026, during a targeted enforcement operation, according to WJLA. DHS has described López Castro as a known MS-13 gang member, and the Salvadoran warrant against him alleges aggravated rape of a minor or incapacitated person as well as a charge related to illicit groupings, per the same report. Authorities say López Castro entered the United States without authorization, with U.S. Border Patrol first encountering him near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on July 23, 2023, before he was later released, DHS said.
The Case Behind the Warrant
The underlying case traces back to Comasagua, in La Libertad Sur, where López Castro allegedly raped a 13-year-old girl repeatedly between 2022 and 2023. According to El Salvador's Fiscalía General de la República, the abuse came to light after a hospital notified law enforcement during a prenatal checkup, revealing that the girl — an acquaintance of the suspect's family — was pregnant. That discovery triggered the criminal investigation that eventually led prosecutors to seek his conviction.
In March 2025, the Second Sentencing Court of Santa Tecla sentenced López Castro to 20 years in prison in absentia, according to the same Salvadoran fiscal authorities. The trial was held in absentia, according to the same Salvadoran fiscal authorities. Human Rights Watch has raised due process concerns about El Salvador's state of emergency. The foreign warrant alleges aggravated rape and illicit groupings.
A Second Charge in the Warrant
The Salvadoran warrant against López Castro also cites illicit groupings. DHS has said López Castro will receive due process during his U.S. immigration proceedings even as the Salvadoran gang and rape allegations remain attached to his case file.
Enforcement Amid Local Restrictions
The arrest was carried out by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations under the agency's Washington Field Office, which is based in Chantilly, Virginia, and serves the District of Columbia and Virginia, according to ICE.
Alexandria's own policies shape how those federal operations unfold locally. Police Directive 10.40, updated in October 2025, prohibits Alexandria police from sharing automated license plate reader data with federal civil immigration authorities like ICE, restricting database access to active criminal investigations, a restriction at issue in the city's camera policy fight.
Oversight Questions at the Regional Holding Facility
ICE may detain and process people at field-office holding facilities, and the Chantilly holding facility was the subject of a Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report published in May 2026. Inspectors found the facility complied with basic food, water and capacity standards, but staff held some detainees beyond the mandatory 72-hour limit during late 2025, according to the DHS Office of Inspector General. The inspection was unannounced.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Fugitive Removals
For now, López Castro remains in custody as his case moves through immigration court, with no removal date announced.
