Wave of arrests of MS-13 gang members in the United States and El Salvador

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230 MS-13 members also known as Mara Salvatrucha were arrested in El Salvador and the United States. AFP Photos / Oscar Rivera

In the United States, a vast search was made against the MS-13, a criminal organization of Salvadoran origin. More than 200 people were arrested on American soil, but also in El Salvador.

It is the result of two years of surveillance, investigation and wiretapping, the largest police operation ever against the MS-13 . A total of 230 people were arrested in some 20 cities in El Salvador and the United States, mainly Long Island, in the New York region.

Recent arrival in New York

Originally created by Salvadoran refugees living in Los Angeles, the MS-13 took root on Long Island, near New York, a few years ago, causing a major wave of violence. The members of the group are said to be responsible for around 30 murders committed in the region since 2016.

Among the hundreds of people arrested on Long Island are said to be senior officials of the criminal organization. According to the investigators, the police operation would have prevented 7 plans for assassinations. For the authorities, this haul is a message addressed to the officials of the MS-13 who hoped to widen their presence in New York.

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As soon as the arrests were announced, Donald Trump welcomed himself on Twitter. " We are going to put all the members of the MS-13 and those who should not be there outside our country, " he wrote. It is not the first time that the American president has used the criminal organization to justify his migration policy.

We are getting MS-13 gang members, and many other people that shouldn't be here, out of our Country! https://t.co/Cfk4iIBVTQ