EXCLUSIVE: ICE Nabs Two MS-13 ‘Ringleaders’ In Midwest Raids

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has arrested two MS-13 gang leaders wanted in El Salvador for violent crimes that include murder, drug trafficking, and gang conspiracy.

One of these gang leaders, The Daily Wire can exclusively report, is Rene Escobar-Ochoa, arrested on July 9 during a coordinated enforcement operation in Omaha, Nebraska. Though U.S. Border Patrol encountered him as far back as 2023, he was allowed to remain in the country under President Joe Biden’s administration, DHS shared.

Escobar-Ochoa faces an “INTERPOL Red Notice” from El Salvador for conspiracy to commit murder and drug trafficking, DHS said.

Rene Escobar-Ochoa, photo courtesy of DHS.

The second gang member, who is a Salvadoran national, is not named by ICE but is on El Salvador’s 100 Most Wanted Fugitives list, according to DHS. Fox News first reported his arrest on Thursday afternoon.

He is wanted for five counts of murder, and U.S. authorities had previously convicted him for illegally crossing the border. He was arrested in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

A Salvadoran national on El Salvador’s 100 Most Wanted list. Photo courtesy of DHS.

“The Biden Administration allowed two ringleaders of MS-13, one of the most violent gangs in the world, straight into our country,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said on Thursday. “One of these depraved aliens is on El Salvador’s 100 Most Wanted Fugitives list and is wanted for five counts of murder. The other has an INTERPOL notice for drug trafficking.”

“These are the kinds of scum-bags sanctuary politicians are protecting and letting walk free on America’s streets,” McLaughlin added.

Both arrests were led by HSI Omaha with support from federal and international law enforcement partners, and ICE is holding both gang members in custody as ICE coordinates with El Salvadoran authorities to send them back to their home country to “face justice.”

DHS emphasizes that the MS-13 gang members’ ability to get into the United States only highlights the danger that open border policies present to American citizens, as well as President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to stem the border crisis.

In the first 100 days of the second Trump administration, ICE arrested 66,463 illegal aliens and removed 65,682 aliens, “including criminals who threaten public safety and national security.” Three in four of the arrests were criminal illegal aliens, the agency said.

Criminal records of the aliens arrested include 9,639 assaults, 6,398 DWIs or DUIs, and 1,479 weapon offenses.

“We removed over 65,000 illegal aliens to countries across the world,” ICE acting Director Todd M. Lyons said in June when ICE released the numbers from the first 100 days. “We’re just 100 days into this administration and thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is using every tool at its disposal to enforce our country’s immigration laws and protect our communities.”