RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas–Police officers arrested a member of the Salvadoran street gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, early Tuesday morning in Rio Grande City.
A police officer patrolling the streets of Rio Grande City shortly after 1 a.m. heard loud music coming from a house. He went to the house to warn the residents about a city ordinance against excessively loud music, said Lieutenant Jose Solis.
As the officer approached a house on the 100 block of Pine Street he saw two women outside who ran inside when they saw him, Solis said. Noticing the strange behavior, the officer went to the house and got consent from the homeowner to search the property. He found two women and one man inside. Upon further investigation the man was identified as Giovani Viron Gomez from El Salvador who admitted to being a member of the MS-13 gang, Solis said. He added that Viron had several tattoos displaying his gang affiliation.
Police turned over Gomez and two other women who appear to have been in the country illegally to U.S. Border Patrol agents for processing and further investigation, the police lieutenant said.
The MS-13 is an international gang tied to drug trafficking, murder for hire and several other criminal enterprises that began in the 1980’s in California by Salvadoran immigrants and over time spread to various countries in Central America.
Follow Ildefonso Ortiz on Twitter @ildefonsoortiz.