An illegal alien who is also a member of the violent MS-13 gang was arrested on Wednesday while hiding out in Omaha, Nebraska, the news coming as President Donald Trump’s administration has been working to find and deport such individuals.
In a press release, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said its Homeland Security Investigations nabbed the man who is a high-ranking member, or kingpin, of the gang and is also on El Salvador’s list of top 100 most wanted fugitives.
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“The Salvadoran national is a criminal alien wanted in El Salvador for the aggravated homicide of five victims; attempted aggravated homicide; deprivation of liberty; and terrorist organization affiliation,” the agency said but did not identify the individual by name.
Officials also arrested another illegal with him whom they said was an MS-13 associate. The pair were apparently living together.
“His associate, Rene Saul Escobar Ochoa, 30, is a criminal alien, known MS-13 gang member and foreign terrorist also wanted in El Salvador. Escobar Ochoa is accused of giving orders to fellow gang members to commit a variety of crimes, including multiple homicides, extortion, imprisonment and drug trafficking,” the news release detailed, saying they posed a severe threat to the safety of the Omaha community.
In a statement, HSI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito, whose office oversees Omaha, said, “These illegal aliens didn’t just sneak into our country; they brought with them a legacy of violence, terror and death. They thought they could hide in America’s heartland, but they were sadly mistaken. Not on our watch.”
In Indiana this week, ICE arrested a Honduran national who is an MS-13 member and in the country illegally, Breitbart News reported. The outlet identified the man as 30-year-old Jonny Handy Martinez-Barillas.
He was “picked up in Clay County, Indiana, and was allowed to roam the country after police in Maryland freed him from prison without obeying an ICE detainer in 2023. The illegal alien had been charged with first-degree murder and firearm possession in Maryland,” the outlet said.
The majority of illegals ICE has recently arrested have criminal convictions or pending charges, the White House said this week, per Breitbart News.
In early 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed the MS-13 gang had murdered over 65 residents in Long Island, New York, since 2009, according to Breitbart News. A total of 13 MS-13 members were charged as a result.
The outlet continued:
According to federal prosecutors, the 13 MS-13 gang members represent the “command and control structure” of the organization that includes orchestrating “violent terrorist activities” in El Salvador to influence the government, intimidate the civilian population, and manipulate the country’s elections.
Most significantly, the members are accused of authorizing and directing violence across the U.S., as well as Mexico and other countries, including countless murders.
President Trump’s administration has labeled MS-13 and the Tren de Aragua gang as designated terrorist organizations.
