An MS-13 gang leader whom authorities have been hunting for more than three years was arrested on Sunday in Houston, Texas.
Authorities with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations took Cesar Humberto Lopez-Larios into custody at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and slapped him with several charges, KHOU reported Thursday.
An image shows the suspect, who is a high-ranking leader of the violent gang:
In a Tuesday press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York detailed the case, stating Lopez-Larios was a member of “MS-13’s Original Twelve Apostles of the Devil and Ranfla Nacional Leadership Structure in El Salvador, Mexico, and the United States.”
He is charged with conspiracy to provide and conceal material support to terrorists, conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to finance terrorism, and narco-terrorism conspiracy, the agency continued:
As set forth in the indictment and related court filings, Lopez-Larios and his co-defendants are part of MS-13’s command and control structure, consisting of the Ranfla Nacional, Ranfla en Las Calles, and Ranfla en Los Penales. They play significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations in El Salvador, Mexico, the United States, and throughout the world. In total, 27 of the highest-ranking leaders of MS-13 have been charged in the Eastern District of New York in this indictment and the related indictment of United States v. Arevalo-Chavez, et al.
As further alleged, in approximately 2002, Lopez-Larios, his co-defendants, and other MS-13 leaders began establishing a highly organized hierarchical command and control structure as a means to effectuate their decisions and enforce their orders, even while in prison. They directed acts of violence and murder in El Salvador, the United States, and elsewhere, established military-style training camps for MS-13 members, and obtained military weapons, such as rifles, handguns, grenades, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and rocket launchers. Further, beginning in approximately 2012, Lopez-Larios and other members of the Ranfla Nacional negotiated with officials from the government of El Salvador (GOES) to obtain benefits and concessions from the government. In order to extort those benefits and concessions, MS-13 engaged in public displays of violence to threaten and intimidate civilian populations, target GOES law enforcement and military officials, and manipulate the electoral process in El Salvador.
According to a 2019 report from news.com.au, MS-13 is the most vicious gang on Earth, and its criminal acts include mutilation, contract killing, drug trafficking, and human smuggling.
“Originating in Los Angeles, gang members are mostly from El Salvador,” the outlet said:
To read more articles on the MS-13 gang, please click here.