Operation Raging Bull was a two-phase operation conducted by U.S. Department of Homeland Security ICE agents. [Courtesy of U.S. Department of Homeland Security/ Immigration and Customs Enforcement]
The U.S. ICE Deputy Director, Thomas Homan, announced Wednesday that the U.S. federal agents were able to arrest 267 members of MS-13 gang members. The 'Operation Raging Bull' was a two-phase operation that was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security federal agents.
MS-13 is a notorious international criminal gang that was founded by El Salvadorian immigrants in Los Angeles, California back in the 80s. Since then it spread its operation quickly to most of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Most of the members are ethnically El Salvadorian and other Central Americans. It has the heavy presence in California, Washington D.C., NYC, Boston and other major metropolitans in the U.S.
The gang has long been a target of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE.
After extensive investigation for 18 months in the U.S. and El Salvador, ICE agents were able to arrest 53 members of MS-13 in El Salvador during the first phase of 'Operation Raging Bull'.
The second phase of the operation began on October 8 this year and ended on November 11 with 214 arrests of MS-13 gang members and associates in the U.S.
Homan said in his announcement, "MS-13 has long been a priority for ICE. However we are now combating the gang with renewed focus and an unprecedented level of cooperation among DHS's components and our domestic and international partners," he continued, "ICE has the ability to pursue complex criminal cases using our statutory authorities and to prevent crime by using our administrative arrest authorities to remove gang members from the country. We will not rest until every member, associate, and leader of MS-13 has been held accountable for their crimes, and those in this country illegally have been removed."
According to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, there are "more than 10,000 members" of MS-13 "across 40 states" in the United States alone. The gang is considered "one of the most dangerous criminal organizations" in the nation.
Sessions assured that this operation was "the next step toward making this country safer by taking MS-13 off of our streets for good."
The ICE reports show that from 214 arrested MS-13 members, only 16 were U.S. citizen and 135 were from El Salvador, 29 from Honduras, 17 from Mexico, 12 from Guatemala, four from Ecuador, and one from Costa Rica.
Kwak, Min Jung = abiel@ajunews.com
