Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a high-profile MS-13 gang member from El Salvador on Monday.
“ICE Baltimore arrested Joel Armando Mejia-Benitez, an MS-13 gang member with an Interpol Red Notice,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed to Fox News.
“He first entered the country illegally in 2005 and was deported. He then reentered our country at an unknown date before he was arrested by HSI Baltimore in 2014. He was issued a notice to appear and released back into Silver Spring, MD,” she added.
According to Interpol, a Red Notice “is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.” It’s basically an international alert for a wanted person.
ICE Baltimore arrested Joel Armando Mejia-Benitez, a MS-13 gang member with an Interpol Red Notice.
He first entered the U.S. illegally in 2005, was deported, and reentered at an unknown time. In 2014, he was arrested by HSI Baltimore and given a notice to appear and released… pic.twitter.com/KLmDrh1diF
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) May 6, 2025
“This criminal, illegal gang member, and suspected terrorist should have never been released into our country,” McLaughlin continued. “Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, he is off our streets and will soon be out of our country.”
It’s not clear what’ll happen to him next — whether he’ll just be deported home or imprisoned in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. The administration has been sending some alleged illegal alien gangbangers to CECOT to stay for a term of at least a year.
Among the gangbangers sent to CECOT have been those affiliated with Tren de Aragua (TDA), a Venezuelan prison gang considered more hardcore than MS-13. Originating in Aragua, Venezuela, TDA was sanctioned as a transnational criminal organization by the Treasury Department (USDT) last summer.
The USDT said in a statement at the time that TDA “is expanding throughout the Western Hemisphere and engaging in diverse criminal activities, such as human smuggling and trafficking, gender-based violence, money laundering, and illicit drug trafficking.”
GOP lawmaker describes violent Venezuelan prison gang infiltrating US as ‘MS-13 on steroids’ https://t.co/X8MojpnRTi
— BPR (@BIZPACReview) August 7, 2024
Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican, has described TDA as “MS-13 on steroids.”
“They’re extremely aggressive,” he told Fox News earlier this year. “It’s not as if they’re a passive group or they want to quietly go about things.”
“They’re coming from Venezuela, one of the most war-torn countries over the last decade. So, they’re battle-hardened in many ways. And they’ve made this trek from there to here. But they are also becoming … more organized and more brazen,” he added.
One recent example of the gang’s violence occurred in late June at a jewelry store in Denver, Colorado, where TDA gang members pistol-whipped two women before robbing the store.
“The brutal robbery caught on video shows several young men posing as clients suddenly turn on the all-female staff and clients,” Denver station KDVR reported.
“The robbers are seen pulling out guns, pushing open an office door, and pistol-whipping two women who fall onto the floor. A young woman can be seen grabbing a baby and running out a back door during the chaos,” according to the station.
When the suspects were later caught, they were found to be TDA members.
(Video Credit: KTSM 9 News)
MS-13 also continues to be active in the United States. Three corrections officers at Wallens Ridge State Prison in Virginia were attacked and stabbed by five MS-13 gang member inmates and a sixth inmate just last Friday.
“The attack occurred at approximately 9:45 a.m. on Friday, May 2,” a Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) press release reads. “Five of the six inmates involved in the attack are confirmed MS-13 gang members from El Salvador, who were in this country illegally.”
“Each have been convicted of violent crimes including aggravated murder, first and second degree murder, and rape. The other inmate involved in the attack is a confirmed member of the Sureno 13 gang and from the United States, serving a sentence for second-degree murder,” the press release continues.
BREAKING: Three Virginia Dept. of Corrections officers were stabbed in a state prison today in what the state says was a premeditated attack involving 5 MS-13 gang members, all of whom are Salvadoran illegal aliens who have been convicted of violent crimes, such as murder & rape. pic.twitter.com/ORW0fEEPPe
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 2, 2025
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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