Honduran Man Arrested for Retaliating Against a Federal Witness

Nashville – A Honduran man was arrested last week in Antioch, Tennessee, after being charged with conspiring to retaliate and retaliating against a witness (Individual A) who testified in a federal trial.

According to court documents, Bayron Wuifredo Santos-Recarte, 25, and his co-conspirators allegedly agreed to, and did, physically assault Individual A because Individual A testified during a racketeer influenced and corrupt organization (RICO) conspiracy federal trial in spring 2023 involving the Mara Salvatrucha street gang, commonly known as MS-13. On November 4, 2023, Santos-Recarte and his co-conspirators allegedly took Individual A by force and at gunpoint and placed him in a truck where they tied his hands together. They allegedly interrogated Individual A for hours about his trial testimony and repeatedly assaulted him before Individual A was able to escape.

Santos-Recarte is charged with conspiring to retaliate and retaliating against a federal witness. If convicted, Santos-Recarte faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiring to retaliate against a federal witness and a maximum penalty of life in prison for retaliating against a federal witness. Santos-Recarte is currently in federal custody.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting United States Attorney Thomas J. Jaworski for the Middle District of Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Nashville Field Division, and Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nashville made the announcement.

“Our office is grateful for individuals who do the right thing and display the courage to tell a jury about criminal conduct in our community,” said Acting United States Attorney Tom Jaworski. “This arrest shows that our office will not allow threats or retaliation against witnesses to go unpunished. We commend law enforcement for their efforts to see justice done in this case.”

“The integrity and safety of those who participate in our judicial system is at the core of our legal system.  The arrest of those individuals who are alleged to have threatened a witness in a criminal trial and inflicted physical harm is a welcomed relief to the citizens of the greater Nashville metropolitan area,” said Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

“For far too long, criminal organizations and transnational gangs like MS-13 have used physical violence and threats of force to intimidate or retaliate against witnesses by reigning terror on local communities,” said HSI Nashville Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud. “By working together with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, we root out those who seek to undermine these basic constitutional protections for witnesses and end their lawless behavior.”

ATF, HSI, and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Matthew Hoff of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ahmed Safeeullah and Brooke Farzad for the Middle District of Tennessee are prosecuting this case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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