Top MS-13 Leader On East Coast Arrested In Northern Virginia, Feds Say

WOODBRIDGE, VA — A top MS-13 gang leader was arrested in Northern Virginia Thursday morning, federal officials announced. Court records later indicated the man's identity.

Trump administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, were present for the announcement, along with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Bondi said the person under arrest is MS-13's leader for the East Coast and an undocumented person from El Salvador.

The attorney general did not release the name of the MS-13 leader Thursday morning but described him as one of MS-13's top three leaders in the U.S. and oversaw violent crimes. The Associated Press later reported his identity as Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, 24, and said he was served with an administrative immigration warrant. He faced a gun possession charge stemming from his arrest.

Bondi called MS-13 one of the most dangerous gangs in the U.S. and said the federal government would work to dismantle it.

"America is safer today because of one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13, he is off the streets," said Bondi.

According to Youngkin, the arrest happened in the Prince William County community of Dale City. It comes after Youngkin directed the Virginia State Police to enter an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, creating a task force to arrest "criminal illegal immigrants who pose a risk to public safety throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia," the governor said.

"I don't believe any community in Virginia wants someone like this living in their community, and that's why it's so important that we come together, put down all the politics, and work together in order to make America safe again," said Youngkin.

The Virginia Homeland Security Task Force established in March works on addressing transnational organized crime groups like MS-13 as well as other immigration enforcement, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia's office.

Erik Siebert, the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said the task force identified 575 "targets" and arrested 342 of these people. Of these, investigations found 81 have gang or transnational crime ties.

"We're already hearing in the community that our efforts are having a deterrent effect on these gangs," said Seibert. "So moving forward with the information that we've obtained from our arrests and search warrants, we plan to use the task force model to continue to identify these bad actors and prioritize the rest of the most violent transnational criminals."

Bondi said the federal government is offering the program to other governors who want their states to take part.

Youngkin shared criticism for Youngkin is pursuing a budget amendment seeking to hold back state funding for localities' law enforcement for lack of cooperation with ICE. But that would require approval from the Democrat-controlled Virginia General Assembly.

Fairfax County, one of the localities Youngkin has directed criticism at, says on its website that it is not a sanctuary county and that it complies with federal, state or local law enforcement needing assistance. However, the county said it does not enforce civil immigration cases, as that authority lies with ICE. The county also provides a list of resources for immigrations to know their rights.