Federal authorities in the United States announced the arrest of a top leader of the infamous Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang in Virginia on Thursday.
The suspect, a 24-year-old man, was taken into custody in Prince William County following a joint operation involving the FBI and state and local law enforcement. U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed in a press conference that the individual is among the three highest-ranking leaders of the Salvadoran criminal organization.
While the suspect’s identity has not been disclosed, Bondi stated that he was residing in the United States illegally and had been recruited into MS-13 as a teenager. Authorities believe he oversaw the gang’s operations along the entire East Coast.
“The bad guy is in jail,” Bondi said, adding that the suspect had been living just 35 miles from Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump also weighed in on the operation via a Truth Social post, confirming the capture of a senior MS-13 figure but providing no further details.
The arrest comes just weeks after U.S. authorities dropped charges against another MS-13 leader, Cesar Lopez-Larios, to expedite his deportation to El Salvador as part of an agreement with President Nayib Bukele’s administration.
Over the past few years, the U.S. Justice Department has intensified its crackdown on MS-13. In 2020, more than a dozen members of the gang were indicted on terrorism-related charges, tied to criminal activities spanning the United States, Mexico, and El Salvador over the last two decades.
