EXCLUSIVE: Barack Obama Accused of Botching Natalee Holloway Murder Investigation
Barack Obama has been facing accusations of botching the Natalee Holloway murder investigation and its handling.
Aug. 11 2026, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
Newly released FBI documents have fueled criticism that Barack Obama's Justice Department bungled the investigation into Natalee Holloway's 2005 disappearance by allegedly failing to arrest prime suspect Joran van der Sloot before he went on to murder another young woman in Peru, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Roughly three weeks before van der Sloot strangled Stephany Flores Ramirez to death in Peru, an FBI intermediary paid him the first $25,000 installment of a promised $250,000 in exchange for information about Natalee's remains.
The info turned out to be false.
FBI Blasted Over Alleged Failures
Barack Obama's Justice Department faces criticism over its handling of the Joran van der Sloot investigation.
The Justice Department did not charge van der Sloot with extortion and wire fraud until June 3, 2010 – mere days after Flores' murder.
"The FBI f--ked that case up!" says renowned private investigator T.J. Ward, who has spent 18 years investigating the case and chronicles his findings in the upcoming book Without Justice: The Cold Case Files of Private Investigator T.J. Ward.
"The FBI should've arrested him right then and there, but they said, 'We want to keep an eye on him before arresting him.' Then he somehow got away from the FBI agents and took off to Peru with the $25,000," Ward said.
Investigative journalist Greta Van Susteren, whose persistent reporting helped bring the FBI files to light, calls the alleged mishap "one of the biggest miscarriages of law enforcement and justice in the history of the Bureau – shocking in its depth, incompetence and callowness."
FBI Denies Wrongdoing in Investigation
T.J. Ward said the FBI should have arrested Joran van der Sloot before he fled to Peru.
The FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office deny any wrongdoing, saying the investigation was not developed enough to support charges before van der Sloot left for Peru, adding the delay "was not due to any fault on the part of the FBI or the U.S. Attorney's Office."
Holloway, 18, vanished while on a trip to Aruba after meeting van der Sloot, who confessed in 2023 to killing her by smashing her head with a cinder block after she refused sex with him. He admitted to disposing of her body in the Caribbean Sea.
Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, urged FBI Director Kash Patel in March 2025 to release documents related to the 2010 sting operation.
Van Der Sloot Admits Killing Natalee
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Rep. Jim Jordan urged FBI Director Kash Patel to release documents tied to the 2010 Joran van der Sloot sting operation.
Van der Sloot was sentenced to 28 years in a Peruvian prison for Flores' murder. In 2023, a U.S. federal judge also slammed him with a 20-year sentence for an extortion plot targeting Natalee's family.
He pleaded guilty to extortion and wire fraud charges. As part of the plea agreement, he finally admitted to killing Natalee.
Still, he has never been charged with her murder.
