Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,
A suspected leader of the criminal gang MS-13 has been apprehended in Nebraska, announced FBI Director Kash Patel in a post on X on Dec. 9.
The arrested individual, Gerson Cuadra Soto, a Honduran national, is suspected of leading one of MS-13’s major kill squad units and carrying out the assassination of the son of the former President of Honduras, as stated by Patel.
Patel further mentioned that this was part of the FBI’s Joint Task Force Vulcan investigation, led by @FBIHouston, aimed at locating, indicting, and arresting members of MS-13 leadership group known as “La Mesa.”
Four individuals, including Saíd Omar Lobo Bonilla, son of former Honduran President Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo Sosa, were fatally shot outside a nightclub in Tegucigalpa on July 14, 2022.
Joint Task Force Vulcan was initiated in August 2019 under the first Trump administration to combat and dismantle MS-13.
La Mesa, referred to as “The Table,” consists of senior MS-13 gang leaders who authorize murders across the United States.
Patel commended the efforts of FBI Omaha, Nebraska, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other collaborators for the successful arrest of Soto.
“This administration is employing a comprehensive strategy to dismantle MS-13 and eliminate their presence within the country,” Patel affirmed. MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, was officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department in February.
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen welcomed Soto’s arrest in a statement, highlighting that Soto had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, obtained a California driver’s license, and settled in Grand Island.
“The reality is simple: Vulnerable borders endanger our families. Fortunately, under strong conservative leadership, our borders are now more secure than ever,” Pillen asserted.
Expanding Scope
During the Trump administration, the FBI intensified its efforts against foreign criminal organizations.
In March, the FBI announced an expansion of its counterterrorism mission to combat transnational organized crime more aggressively.
This decision followed the State Department’s designation of several international cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
The FBI renamed its Terrorist Screening Center to the Threat Screening Center, broadening the scope of national security screening to include groups like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua operating in the U.S.
“Border security is crucial for safeguarding our nation and creating safer communities for our citizens,” Patel emphasized in a statement.
A recent Treasury Department statement announced sanctions on key affiliates of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The State Department’s March report highlighted the threats posed by transnational criminal organizations, with Mexican criminal groups identified as a significant menace to the U.S.
The report pointed out that Mexico is a major source of illicit fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, distributed primarily by Mexican cartels like Sinaloa and New Generation Jalisco in North America. Mexico also supplies most of the heroin and methamphetamine seized in the U.S.
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