(NewsNation) — One of the MS-13 gang‘s top leaders has been arrested in Virginia by U.S. authorities, multiple Trump administration officials confirmed on Thursday.
“Early this morning, one of the top leaders of MS-13 was apprehended. He was the leader for the East Coast, one of the top three in the entire country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a Thursday morning press conference.
Authorities have not yet released the arrestee’s name, but Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed he is a Salvadorian national who was living in Virginia, “half an hour outside of Washington, D.C.”
“I can now confirm that earlier this morning, law enforcement personnel arrested a top MS-13 leader in Virginia … Justice is coming,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on X.
Following the arrest, President Donald Trump on Truth Social called border czar Tom Homan a “superstar.”
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on social media commended Patel, Bondi, Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. She pointed to collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement as a reason behind the arrest.
Last week, the FBI announced the arrest of one of the agency’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives,” alleged MS-13 member Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales.
What is MS-13?
MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, is a gang created by Salvadoran immigrants in America. The U.S. Department of Justice describes the organization as “well-organized and is heavily involved in lucrative illegal enterprises, being notorious for its use of violence to achieve its objectives.
Members of MS-13 have allegedly been involved in rapes and witness intimidation. The group has also been known to “participate in numerous transnational crimes,” according to the DOJ. The department claimed they also participated in weapon smuggling and illegal firearm sales.
NewsNation’s Steph Whiteside and Anna Kutz contributed to this report.
