‘Why was Joran van der Sloot not arrested?’: Tuberville says sting raises ‘disturbing questions’
Greta Van Susteren said a “bungled 2010 sting operation” into the confessed Natalee Holloway killer led to the death of a woman in Peru.
Ryan Cooper 
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville is demanding accountability following the release of new FBI documents concerning Joran van der Sloot, the man who confessed to the killing of Natalee Holloway.
A Bungled Operation?
Veteran journalist Greta Van Susteren recently labeled the 2010 FBI sting as a "disgraceful" failure, alleging that the operation ultimately cleared a path for van der Sloot to commit another murder in Peru five years later.
Writing on Greta.com, the legal analyst and reporter questioned how Birmingham-based authorities and a U.S. Attorney allowed a self-confessed killer to evade capture after an extortion attempt. According to Van Susteren, the FBI provided the suspect with $25,000 in cash during the sting before he was permitted to leave Aruba. Only two weeks later, he arrived in Lima, Peru, where he brutally murdered Stephany Flores on May 30, 2010—the five-year anniversary of Holloway’s disappearance.
Questions of Oversight
Van Susteren, who was among the first journalists to cover the Holloway case after she vanished in 2005, noted that she has spent years pursuing Freedom of Information requests regarding the investigation. She argues that authorities missed multiple opportunities to intervene, including failing to coordinate with Aruban officials for an immediate arrest after van der Sloot’s confession and failing to secure wire fraud charges while the suspect was still in reach.
Following the 2010 incident, a federal grand jury in Birmingham indicted van der Sloot for extortion and wire fraud on June 30, 2010. By 2023, the now 38-year-old pleaded guilty to the extortion of Beth Holloway, having originally requested $250,000 for information regarding her daughter's remains.
Calls for Transparency
Reacting to the documentation, Tuberville emphasized the lasting impact of the tragedy on Alabama. In a statement posted to X, the Senator highlighted the "disturbing questions" raised by the file release.
"Why was Joran van der Sloot not arrested after the 2010 extortion sting, and were critical failures concealed from the public?" Tuberville asked. He credited the Trump DOJ for providing "RADICAL TRANSPARENCY" and added that the Holloway family and all Alabamians are owed the truth regarding these events.
