MS-13 members made up more than half of the 808 gang members Border Patrol agents apprehended at international boundaries in fiscal 2018, according to newly released data.
Exactly 413 members of Mara Salvatrucha, comprised primarily of Salvadoran citizens, were encountered while illegally crossing into the U.S. at or between border crossings from Oct. 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2018.
MS-13 apprehensions at the border are up significantly from 228 in 2017 and 253 in 2016, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
Five years ago, a total 437 MS-13 affiliates were arrested. The total number of people encountered by CBP was around 690,000 both in 2016 and 2018.
[Opinion: MS-13 has taken over El Salvador and now it’s everywhere in the US]
Two freshmen House Republicans — Chip Roy of Texas and Mark Green of Tennessee — are spearheading an attempt to persuade the State Department to officially classify some international drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Green, a military doctor who was present at the capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003, said some organizations that move drugs across international borders rely on the same “barbaric tactics” ISIS and al Qaeda use, including “murdering and torturing innocents, destabilizing countries and assassinating members of law enforcement.”
Roy and Green added the drug crisis facing America stems from the opioid cartels moving into the country through the southern border.
The 18th Street Gang, a multi-ethnic transnational organization, had 145 of its members snagged by Border Patrol last year — more than double the previous year’s number.
More than 60 Paisas and Surenos were each caught at the border. Other gangs with at least one member arrested were 107th Street, Barrio Azteca, Border Brothers, Chirizos, Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos, Latin Kings, Locos Surenos Trece, Mara-R, Maraville Salva Trucha, Mexican Mafia, Nortenos, South Los, Tango Blast, Texas Syndicate, VIlanos-13, Zeta, and others.
