(The Center Square) – A 24-year-old man described as one of the top three leaders of MS-13 in the country was arrested Thursday morning in a suburban neighborhood in Prince William County, Va., just miles from the FBI Academy at Quantico.
Federal and state officials accuse the suspect of being an East Coast ringleader for MS-13, a violent Salvadoran transnational criminal gang known for drug trafficking, extortion and brutal killings. The suspect was taken into custody in Dale City without incident, inside a home where five children were reportedly present.
“America is safer today because one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13, he is off the streets,” said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement. “This has been an ongoing directive of President Trump. His directive to me when I became Attorney General of the United States was very simple: Keep America safe!”
The arrest comes as part of a broader statewide crackdown on transnational criminal organizations, including MS-13. The Virginia Homeland Security Task Force, launched earlier this year by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, has arrested 247 individuals in its first three weeks. At least 18 of those arrests have been linked to MS-13.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin praised the arrest and reiterated his administration’s immigration enforcement stance.
“It’s this effort that has been enabled by the Trump Administration,” Youngkin said. “President Trump said, ‘Get the bad guys.’ I’ve been working on this — literally — for the first three years of our administration with little to no help from the senior leadership in the federal government in the Biden Administration.”
Youngkin credited the task force, saying it help lead to the rapid arrests.
“This task force was designed in the White House … architected in a very quick period of time and stood up immediately … I cannot emphasize enough the collaboration and support and leadership out of the new administration that is so different than what we saw [under the Biden Administration],” the governor said during a press conference.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt commented on the arrest of one of MS-13’s top leaders in Northern Virginia during a White House press conference Thursday morning.
Leavitt said that the president had been briefed and was “very proud of Attorney General Bondi and the FBI Director Kash Patel.” She called the suspect “a very violent individual who was picked up in a home with five children present.”
Patel commended law enforcement and the Trump administration in allowing them to do their jobs.
“This is what happens when you let good cops be cops, and we’re going to continue to let good cops be cops across this country. President Trump gave us the executive decision to go after and safeguard our communities … We are returning our communities to safety,” said the FBI director.
The president also praised the arrest on Truth Social, “Great job by Pam Bondi, @FBIDirectorKash, Tom HOMAN, and Kristi N, on the capture of MS-13 leader—A big deal!”
Youngkin has also proposed withholding state funding from local governments, limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
As of Thursday afternoon, federal officials have not publicly released the suspect’s name or announced formal charges.
