US captures top MS-13 leader in Virginia operation

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) – US authorities announced Thursday the capture of a top MS-13 gang leader operating on the East Coast during a multi-agency operation in Virginia.

The 24-year-old suspect, whose name has not been released, was apprehended in Woodbridge, just south of Washington, DC, Fox News reported.

Authorities confirmed that the individual ranks among the gang's top three US leaders.

"Just captured a major leader of MS-13," President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, praising his border czar Tom Homan and calling him a "superstar."

He also commended Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for their "great job."

Bondi vowed that the Department of Justice "will not rest until we make America safe again."

The raid involved the FBI along with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local police forces.

This follows Mexico's March 18 arrest of another high-ranking MS-13 leader, Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, also known as Veterano de Tribus.

MS-13, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in the US, was founded by Salvadoran civil war refugees. Known for extreme violence, the gang operates transnational criminal networks across the US and Latin America.