A federal grand jury returned a second superseding indictment charging four Maryland men in connection with a conspiracy to participate in murder in aid of a racketeering enterprise run by the notorious La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang, which has strong ties to Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations, reports Homeland Security Today.
According to intelligence officials, MS-13 members from Central America have entered the United States among the hordes of unaccompanied children and teenagers now flooding into the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
"Attacking and dismantling violent criminal enterprises like MS-13 is one of Homeland Security Investigations's (HIS) highest enforcement priorities," said William Winter, special agent in charge of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) HSI office in Baltimore. "Our investigation revealed that MS-13 is an enterprise that participates in criminal acts, such as murder, attempted murder, violent assaults, witness intimidation and retaliation, and extortion. HSI special agents will continue to work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to target MS-13 members and other transnational criminal street gangs that are a rising public safety threat in our communities."
