An alleged leader of the violent MS-13 street gang was arrested, officials announced this week, but who was it and what exactly is MS-13?
The arrest was announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Here's what to know:
What is MS-13?
MS-13 gang, or Mara Salvatrucha, was one of eight Latin American criminal organizations declared foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration last month.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, the gang was "formed by Salvadoran immigrants that came to the United States in order to escape the civil war in their home country." The group originated as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles, but grew into a transnational gang based in El Salvador.
"Some of its members were trained in guerilla warfare and the use of military weapons. The gang is well-organized and is heavily involved in lucrative illegal enterprises, being notorious for its use of violence to achieve its objectives," the department stated. "Fear and intimidation are used in extorting payments from any legitimate or illegitimate business owners for the right to conduct their business in MS-13 territory."
U.S. & World
It has members in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico and thousands of members across the U.S. with numerous branches, or “cliques.”
In the past decade, the U.S. Justice Department has intensified its focus on MS-13.
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The 2016 killings of two high school girls, who were hacked and beaten to death as they walked through their neighborhood on New York’s Long Island, focused national attention on the gang. Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, friends and classmates at Brentwood High School, were killed with a machete and a baseball bat by a group of young men and teenage boys who had stalked them from a car. More killings followed in the coming months.
President Donald Trump has blamed violence and gang growth on lax immigration policies. In his first term as president, Trump promised an all-out fight against MS-13, saying he would “dismantle, decimate and eradicate” the gang.
Who was arrested from MS-13?
The man arrested was a 24-year-old from El Salvador, who was described as one of MS-13's top three leaders in the United States.
The Justice Department did not immediately release the alleged East Coast leader's name or detail the charges against him. Bondi said he was living in the U.S. illegally in northern Virginia, outside of Washington. It was unclear whether he was facing federal criminal charges or had been taken into custody by immigration officials.
“Because of operational security, we won’t get into too many details about this individual,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Why was the arrest made?
Bondi lauded the early morning apprehension as a major victory in the Trump administration’s effort to crack down on a gang known for brutal violence and extortion.
The administration promoted the arrest as part of its effort to fulfill campaign promises to quash illegal immigration and eliminate gangs.
“We want to make our streets safer,” Bondi told reporters. “We want to make our schools safer. We want to make your neighborhoods safer. This guy was living in a neighborhood right around you, no longer."
At the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, citing the arrest, called it “a good day for our country.”
