President Donald Trump on Thursday praised federal law enforcement agencies in "ridding our country of MS-13 gang members" and its efforts to work with Central American authorities in destroying the violent street gang.
Trump took to Twitter:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday traveled to El Salvador to spend two days seeking stronger cooperation from authorities in the fight against the street gang that has plagued many U.S. cities.
At the daily White House press briefing, principal associate deputy attorney general Robert Hur said "hundreds" of MS-13 gang members have been arrested in El Salvador for crimes ranging from drug-trafficking to murder.
One, who fled to the United States earlier this year, was the shooter in a high-profile killing in Central America, Hur said.
He was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and is awaiting deportation proceedings.
"They are helping us take to fight to MS-13 on its home turf," Hur said of El Salvadoran authorities.
"It speaks volumes that the attorney general himself has traveled to the nerve center of MS-13 and is standing in solidarity with our partners in Central America."
Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan told reporters "targeting, arresting, and removing members of violent street gangs sends a clear message to criminal enterprises around the world: You are not welcome in the United States and you will find no harbor here.
"President Trump made it a priority to get these criminals off our streets and when possible out of our country – and that's exactly what the men and women of ICE are going to do every single day to help keep America safe."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.