(The Center Square) – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations arrested one of El Salvador’s most notorious MS-13 gang members in Nebraska.
The suspect, whose name has not been released, is a Salvadoran national. He was wanted by authorities because he had multiple violent charges against him including the killings of five people, unlawful detention, aggravated murder, and a connection to a terrorist organization.
He was arrested along with Rene Saul Escobar Ochoa, a 30-year-old MS-13 terrorist and foreign national who was residing with the suspect in the United States illegally.
Ochoa, also wanted in El Salvador, is alleged to be the ringleader of a network of gang members, directing them to carry out a series of violent crimes like murder, extortion, drug distribution, and imprisonment.
They were both taken into custody without any resistance during a focused operation. Their presence was known in Omaha and posed a severe threat to the community, according to ICE officials.
“These illegal aliens didn’t just sneak into our country; they brought with them a legacy of violence, terror and death,” HSI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito, said in a statement. “They thought they could hide in America’s heartland, but they were sadly mistaken.”
Federal officials are warning that any misinformation about immigration enforcement could have deadly consequences.
“When ICE agents move in to make an arrest, it is extremely important that the public not interfere,” ICE acting Director Todd M. Lyons, said in the release. “The misinformation, and sometimes blatant lies, being spread around the country could result in someone stepping into a federal operation and suddenly finding themselves face-to-face with a killer who has nothing to lose.”
The Trump administration is prioritizing finding and removing TdA members as well as others it’s designated as members of foreign terrorist organizations.
A Homeland Security task force is working to protect Americans “by eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations operating in Nebraska and Iowa,” The Center Square reported.
One recent arrest was of a Venezuelan national and alleged TdA member charged with attempted murder of special agents in Bellevue, Nebraska, after throwing an ICE agent to the ground, slamming her head on the pavement, ripping off her body armor, and making “repeated and physical violent contact,” The Center Square reported.
This is after more than one million Venezuelans illegally entered the country under the Biden adminstration, including members of the terrorist organization Tren de Aragua, whose criminal activity has been confirmed in at least 22 states, The Center Square exclusively reported.
