ICE arrests one of El Salvador’s “Top 100 Most Wanted” hiding in Nebraska
HSI takes down MS-13 kingpin wanted for multiple murders; MS-13 associate also captured
OMAHA, Neb. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations arrested a high-ranking member of the violent MS-13 gang who was listed among El Salvador’s top 100 most wanted fugitives July 9.
The Salvadoran national is a criminal alien wanted in El Salvador for the aggravated homicide of five victims; attempted aggravated homicide; deprivation of liberty; and terrorist organization affiliation.
The criminal alien was apprehended alongside an MS-13 associate he was residing with and who was also in the United States illegally.
His associate, Rene Saul Escobar Ochoa, 30, is a criminal alien, known MS-13 gang member and foreign terrorist also wanted in El Salvador. Escobar Ochoa is accused of giving orders to fellow gang members to commit a variety of crimes, including multiple homicides, extortion, imprisonment and drug trafficking.
“When ICE agents move in to make an arrest, it is extremely important that the public not interfere,” said ICE acting Director Todd M. Lyons. “The misinformation, and sometimes blatant lies, being spread around the country could result in someone stepping into a federal operation and suddenly finding themselves face-to-face with a killer who has nothing to lose.”
Both individuals were arrested without incident in a targeted enforcement action. They had embedded themselves in the Omaha area, where they posed severe threats to the local community’s safety.
“These illegal aliens didn’t just sneak into our country; they brought with them a legacy of violence, terror and death,” said HSI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito, whose office oversees Omaha. “They thought they could hide in America’s heartland, but they were sadly mistaken. Not on our watch.”
HSI, ICE’s Enforcement Removal Operations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are conducting the investigation.
“Our ICE officers and agents are protecting your neighborhoods, even when you don’t know the threat is there, so either support them or get out of the way,” concluded Lyons.
The investigation is ongoing.
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