US Border Patrol Special Operations Unit arrest suspected gang members in DC
WASHINGTON (7News) — A U.S. Border Patrol Special Operations Group arrested more than a dozen suspected gang members in the D.C. metro area this month.
The Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC), the National Gang Unit, the FBI and Homeland Security all worked together in the operation that resulted in the arrests of 14 Tren de Aragua (TdA) members and one MS-13 member.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks said the members were involved in “ongoing criminal activity.”
Authorities also recovered a firearm from one of the groups.
TdA is designated by the White House as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It operates in conjunction with a “narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela, and commits brutal crimes, including murders, kidnappings, extortions, and human, drug, and weapons trafficking,” according to the White House proclamation.
MS-13 was formed in the 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants in Los Angeles, California. Some members are trained in guerilla warfare and the use of military weapons, according to the Department of Justice.