U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a Salvadoran national in Portland, April 15. The person was illegally present in the United States and is affiliated with Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The Border Patrol’s Anti-Smuggling Unit discovered the subject’s suspected gang affiliation to MS-13, and then identified his location as being in Portland, where Border Patrol agents arrested him.
The El Salvadoran man is being detained pending his removal proceedings and will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations.
MS-13 is a highly dangerous organization that is known for extreme violence and illegal activities in the United States. The State Department earlier this year designated MS-13, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Juan G. Bernal, Chief of U.S. Border Patrol’s Houlton Sector said:
The U.S. Border Patrol is committed to putting dangerous terrorists and violent gang-members behind bars. They present a real threat to our nation and to the American people, and as such, they remain a top enforcement priority for the Border Patrol. Members of the MS-13 terrorist organization should know that our agents will find you, we will work to prosecute you, and if you are not legally present in the United States, we will work to remove you from our country.
Nationwide, the U.S. Border Patrol has apprehended 218 gang affiliated subjects this year, and in Maine, Border Patrol agents have arrested members of both the Tren De Aragua and MS-13 terrorist organizations.
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