Alleged MS-13 Gang Leader Captured in Virginia, US Government Reports | US News
The reported leader of the MS-13 gang on the US East Coast has been apprehended in Virginia, according to the announcement from the US Attorney General.
The 24-year-old individual from El Salvador was recognized as one of the top three leaders of the violent street gang in the United States, as stated by Pam Bondi during a press briefing following his arrest.
She remarked to reporters: “The bad guy is in jail.”
“Today, America is safer because one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13… is no longer on the streets.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi during a press conference about the arrest. Pic: AP
“Our goal is to make schools safer and neighborhoods more secure. This individual was living nearby, but that is no longer the case.”
As of now, the Justice Department has not disclosed the suspect’s identity or the specific charges against him.
The MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is an international criminal organization that originated in Los Angeles during the 1980s. It was established by immigrants fleeing El Salvador‘s civil war, aiming to protect Salvadoran immigrants from rival gangs.
The group was designated as a terrorist organization by the Trump administration last month.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump stated: “Just captured a major leader of MS13,” without providing further details.
The former president has previously attributed the gang’s expansion to lenient immigration policies in the US.
Ms. Bondi informed journalists that the suspect was residing illegally in the US, approximately 35 miles (56km) from Washington.
She mentioned that the suspect was recruited into MS-13 at a young age and was overseeing the gang’s operations on the East Coast.
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In 2016, the murders of two high school girls, Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, on Long Island, New York, drew national attention to the gang.
The teenage friends were brutally attacked with a machete and baseball bat by young men and teenagers who had stalked them from a car.
Further killings ensued in the months that followed.
Over the last two decades, more than a dozen gang members have faced terrorism charges related to organized crime in the US, Mexico, and El Salvador.
