Leader of violent MS-13 gang arrested in Virginia, feds say

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Federal authorities arrested Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos – a 24-year-old alleged leader of MS-13, the Mara Salvatrucha gang – on a gun charge early Thursday morning in northern Virginia, the Trump administration announced.

Villatoro Santos is facing one felony charge, according to court records. The Justice Department and other federal officials said Villatoro Santos is a Salvadoran national with unlawful status in the United States.

Despite the single charge, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi identified him as one of the three main leaders of MS-13 in the U.S., responsible for the East Coast.

“America is safer today because one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13, he is off the streets,” she told reporters Thursday morning in Manassas, Virginia.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, said the arrest was in Dale City, about 28 miles south of Washington, in a coordinated effort with federal, Virginia and local law enforcement agencies. Youngkin blamed local leadership in northern Virginia, which leans Democratic, and the Biden administration for not arresting the alleged leader sooner.

What is his charge?

Federal prosecutors have charged Villatoro Santos with possessing a firearm by an alien, court records show.

In an affidavit, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deportation Officer Jason Klepec said officials executed a federal search warrant for Villatoro Santos at a home where his mother had reported a burglary in August. FBI agents had seen Villatoro Santos entering and exiting the residence in March. He is not legally present in the United States, though the affidavit didn't detail any prior crimes.

Agents first tried to knock and announce their presence, then breached the front and back doors of the home, the affidavit said. After breaching the front door, they found Villatoro Santos in an alcove leading to the garage, which agents later discovered was Villatoro Santos’ room.

Villatoro Santos allegedly ducked behind a small wall, and officials said he didn’t comply with officers' orders for him to leave the home. Agents then used a stun grenade, and he eventually was pulled out of the residence.

The affidavit said Villatoro Santos was taken into custody on an outstanding administrative immigration warrant. When agents searched his room, they said they found a 9mm handgun near the bed. Agents also allegedly found three additional firearms, ammunition and two suppressors.

Agents also found “indicia of MS-13 association” in his garage bedroom, according to the affidavit.

Officials said they will seek Villatoro Santos' deportation to El Salvador. On Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited El Salvador to inspect the country's infamous mega-prison housing men as part of the country's crackdown on gangs, including MS-13.

David Brotherton, a sociology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who studies transnational gangs, said it’s hard to say more about the man's case without knowing specifics of the case, which the administration hasn’t provided. However, he did say in an email that younger MS-13 leaders do exist, including in El Salvador.

What is MS-13?

MS-13 is a transnational gang founded in Los Angeles in the 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants. After gang members were deported from the U.S., the gang flourished in Central America, growing rapidly in and around El Salvador and Mexico.

President Donald Trump's State Department named MS-13 a designated terrorist organization Feb. 20. The gang has been responsible for high-profile killings, kidnappings and drug trafficking in the Americas, including on Long Island, the Washington area and in California.

MS-13 engages in drug trafficking, smuggling, kidnapping, extortion and prostitution. Gang members have gained notoriety for being covered in tattoos signifying allegiance to the gang.

The group – along with its Los Angeles-originating rival 18th Street – have been at the center of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's crackdown on violence in the Central American country. Thousands of people have been incarcerated in Salvadoran prisons as the it wages war on gangs, dramatically cutting homicides to the lowest in Latin America.

Other detentions: Trump shipped them to El Salvador. Their families say their only crime was a tattoo.

Earlier this month, the U.S. dropped charges against Cesar Lopez-Larios, another MS-13 leader, in order to deport him to El Salvador as part of a deal with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele.

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MS-13 during Trump's first term

In Trump's first term, the gang became a highlight of the administration's crackdown on immigration, particularly from Central America, and sanctuary cities that limited local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agents.

Trump called suspected gang members "animals." The administration's controversial child separation policy cited MS-13, with officials saying gang members used children to cross the border.

More than a dozen MS-13 members were indicted in 2020 on terrorism charges relating to their alleged involvement in organized crime in the U.S., Mexico and El Salvador over the past two decades.

Contributing: Reuters