The leader of the violent Mara Salvatrucha (MS)-13 gang was arrested by law enforcement in Virginia on Thursday, marking a significant win for the Trump administration. MS-13 is an international gang that started in Los Angeles and has since expanded throughout much of Central America.
The gang gained national attention in 2016 after the brutal murders of two high school girls, Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas, on Long Island, who were killed with a machete and baseball bat. President Trump has blamed lax immigration policies for the gang’s growth, vowing to “dismantle, decimate, and eradicate” MS-13 during his first term. The recent arrest is seen as a step forward in his administration’s fight against the gang.
