On February 18, 2009, it was announced that New York Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio had gone to El Salvador with the hopes of bringing Pacheco to Major League Soccer.

After a bright start, Pacheco struggled on the field for New York, and the team terminated his loan deal before the end of the season.

El Salvador failed to qualify for the FIFA World Youth Championship that was to be held in the United Arab Emirates.

That same year Pacheco was also part of the El Salvador U-23 team that won the Central American and Caribbean Games gold medal, after defeating Mexico in the final.

Pacheco scored his first goal for El Salvador, off a free-kick vs Costa Rica in a 2003 Gold Cup Quarterfinals match.

Early reports said he was shot when leaving a bathroom at a gas station in Santa Ana, El Salvador.