Feds: Lengthy prison terms have MS-13 on the run

The notoriously violent MS-13 gang is starting to shed members in the Washington region because gang members fear prosecution and stiff prison terms, federal prosecutors said in recently filed court documents.

On Friday, 20-year-old Antonio Barrera became the latest MS-13 member to receive a lengthy prison term when he was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the role he played in two Northern Virginia gang shootings. Barrera, an illegal immigrant, pleaded guilty to his role in the shootings in January. Sentences like Barrera’s are starting to have an effect on MS-13 members in Northern Virginia, prosecutors said.