The United States has charged 14 leaders of the international criminal gang MS-13 on terrorism charges, the U.S. Department of Justice sai...
The United States has charged 14 leaders of the international criminal gang MS-13 on terrorism charges, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday, part of an intensified crackdown on the group.
The indictment, filed in Central Islip, New York, and unsealed on Thursday, charged the individuals with conspiracies to support terrorists, commit acts of terrorism and finance terrorism, according to the department.
'The indictment announced today is the highest-reaching and most sweeping indictment targeting MS-13 and its command and control structure in U.S. history,' said Jeffrey Rosen, acting Attorney General, in a statement.
Borromeo Enrique Henriquez, known as 'Little Hollywood Devil' and considered the main leader of MS-13, has been charged with terrorism by the U.S. Justice Department
Gang members are seen inside a cell at Quezaltepeque jail in El Salvador in September. Those pictured are members of Barrio 18 - sworn enemies of the MS-13 gang
Gang members in an overcrowded cell protected by a heavily-armed guard in September
Jeffrey Rosen, the acting Attorney General, announced the charges Thursday in a statement
The department said that Borromeo Enrique Henriquez, considered the most powerful member of Ranfla Nacional, which the U.S. government said comprises the highest level of MS-13 leadership, as well as 10 other people were in custody in El Salvador.
Henriquez, aka 'Diablito de Hollywood' (Little Hollywood Devil) is widely recognized as the most powerful member of the Ranfla Nacional.
The United States would 'explore options for their extradition,' it said.
Three of the defendants, Fredy Ivan Jandres-Parada, 45, known as 'Lucky de Park View'; Cesar Humberto Lopez-Larios, 42, known as 'Oso de Stoners' (Stoners' Bear) and 42-year-old Hugo Armando Quinteros-Mineros, aka 'Flaco de Francis' (Skinny Francis) remain at large and should be considered armed and dangerous, the department said.
El Salvador's prisons are famously overcrowded and dangerous, and now COVID-ridden
The FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement´s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have offered $20,000 in rewards for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the three, the statement said.
In July, the department said it was stepping up a crackdown on the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang and would seek the death penalty against an accused New York gang leader facing murder charges.
Donald Trump has previously linked the fight against the gang with his campaign against illegal immigration.
Critics of the administration's tactics argue that the crackdown has also unlawfully detained immigrant teens accused of gang affiliation.
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