The United States and El Salvador are working together to combat the threat of the violent MS-13 gang, with El Salvador announcing Thursday that they charged 113 gang members.
The Salvadorian government also charged 593 gang members Wednesday, many of which are a part of MS-13.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions arrived in El Salvador Thursday and congratulated the Salvadorian government for bringing the charges. Meanwhile, in the United States, acting ICE director Thomas Homan talked about the MS-13 threat at home during the White House press briefing.
“Arresting and removing members of violent street gang MS-13 sends a clear message to criminal enterprises around the world: you are not welcome in the United States and you will find no harbor here,” Homan said during the briefing.
“President Trump made it a priority to get these criminals off our streets and, when possible, out of our country,” he continued. “That is exactly what the men and women of ICE are going to do every single day to help keep America safe.”
Homan explained that since January of 2017, ICE has arrested 3,311 gang members, including one recent “Project Dawn” that netted over 1,000 arrests.
WATCH:
ICE agents in the United States and El Salvador have worked together on cases involving MS-13 members in the past.
Earlier this year, MS-13’s Peajes Locos Salvatruchas Clique was a suspect in three murders in El Salvador and fled to the United States. The alleged murderer is now in U.S. ICE custody and is pending immigration proceedings that would bring him back into the custody of the Salvadorian government.
