U.S. Extradits Man to El Salvador in First Dual Nationality Case

The United States government handed over a dual national to El Salvador on Thursday, marking the first time a U.S. citizen has been extradited to the Central American nation.

Michael Alejandro Castillo Murga, 27, is accused of killing his partner, Fernanda Nájera, and attempting to murder their son. The Salvadoran Attorney General’s Office confirmed the transfer, which allows the defendant to stand trial in the country where the alleged crimes occurred.

Authorities say Castillo Murga and Nájera began a relationship in 2014 and had a son in 2017. According to the investigation, the man picked up the woman and their one-year-old child on the night of January 31, 2019, to take them to a house he had rented. Police believe he stabbed Nájera to death and left the boy abandoned in a coffee plantation.

The child was discovered days later in a dehydrated state. Salvadoran officials noted that although Castillo Murga promised to provide financial support after the birth, his visits to the family were irregular. The U.S. Embassy in El Salvador stated that the suspect fled the scene, crossed into Guatemala on foot, and used his American passport to return to the United States.

Castillo Murga remained a fugitive for nearly two years. Law enforcement officers captured him in October 2024 following an international alert issued for the purpose of extradition.

The case underscores the procedural steps required when a person holds citizenship in two nations. It is a rare instance of the U.S. judicial system releasing a citizen to a foreign court for a homicide trial.