US crackdown nets 103 members of MS-13 gang

US crackdown nets 103 members of MS-13 gang
People's Daily Online, China - 1 hour ago
US agents have arrested 103 immigrants during a two-month, nationwide crackdown ... The arrests of the alleged members of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13,

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US agents have arrested 103 immigrants during a two-month, nationwide crackdown on a Central American crime gang that is known for using machetes to sever the limbs of its enemies, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Monday.

The arrests of the alleged members of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, are part of an ongoing effort by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) against what has become one of the most violent gangs in the USA. MS-13 has thousands of members across the nation.

In February and March, police and federal agents arrested 30 alleged gang members in New York, 25 in Washington, 17 in Los Angeles, and 10 each in Baltimore, Miami and New Jersey. One person was arrested in Dallas.

About half the alleged gang members have prior arrests or convictions on charges that include murder, assault and drug possession, said Michael Garcia, assistant secretary for ICE.

In Los Angeles, for example, ICE agents arrested a former member of the Salvadoran military who had been convicted in the USA for robbery, possession of dangerous weapons and mail fraud. He was charged with immigration violations.

The arrests come as ICE and other federal agencies are boosting efforts to arrest and deport immigrants who are in the USA illegally, or who are believed to have violated the terms of their stay here by committing crimes.

ICE has collected thousands of names of alleged members of MS-13 from state and local police and is running them through federal databases to find immigration violators, Garcia said. He said ICE aims to expand the database by collecting names of gang members from police in other countries.

ICE has tried to tamp down the crime group before.

After police in Charlotte linked more than a dozen homicides over three years to gang members, ICE helped local authorities arrest and deport more than 100 foreign-born members of MS-13.

Police and federal agents also arrested 45 gang members last fall in San Diego.

"MS-13 was an obvious choice because of how widespread and violent it is," Garcia said.

MS-13, a descendant of a Salvadoran gang, began in Los Angeles. Its first members were Salvadoran immigrants who came to the USA during the 1980s.

The gang operates in loosely affiliated cells and has been linked to trafficking in drugs, arms and humans.

"Our goal is to dismantle this organization, so we will use (the arrests) as a way in," Garcia said. "Arresting and deporting gang leaders and gang members disrupts operations."

Source: Agencies
http://english.people.com.cn/200503/15/eng20050315_176909.html

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