EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s Cartel Crackdown Leads To Arrest Of Dangerous MS-13 Member

A dangerous member of the violent drug gang MS-13 was recently arrested thanks to intelligence provided by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), The Daily Wire can first report. 

The NCTC, which operates under National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, provided intelligence that helped Border Patrol track down and arrest Jonathan Ezequiel Portillo Beltran in Los Angeles on August 14. Beltran was a member of MS-13, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told The Daily Wire. 

“Our team works to ensure law enforcement officers have operational intelligence they need when encountering suspected terrorists like Beltran. Thanks to this work, the days of terrorists living freely within our borders are over,” NCTC Director Joe Kent said. 

Kent added that the National Counterterrorism Center “stepped up to surge resources and personnel to counter terrorist cartels and gangs” in response to President Donald Trump’s executive actions to designate drug cartels as terrorist organizations. 

“Because of President Trump’s designation and NCTC and Law Enforcement coordination efforts, fentanyl deaths are at an all-time low,” he said. 

Intelligence provided by Kent’s office has also aided in the arrests of suspected cartel members. 

According to ODNI, these arrests included Luis Alberto Davila Salazar, a member of the Los Zetas Cartel arrested on July 11 as he illegally entered the United States; Edgar Omar Botello Rangel, a member of the Gulf Cartel who was arrested on July 21 while attempting to enter the United States; and Edgar Martin Rosales Montoya, a Sinaloa Cartel affiliate who was apprehended on July 24 after illegally crossing into the United States. 

Since Trump designated drug cartels and transnational organizations such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua as terrorist organizations, the National Counterterrorism Center has added over 21,00 cartel members to its terrorist database. It has also created over 35,000 identities linked to the 10 cartels that have been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, which have led to 6,525 terrorists being denied entry into the United States, ODNI told The Daily Wire. 

“This is a snapshot of our success and I am proud to work with our team here, across the Intelligence Community, and with our law enforcement partners at all levels,” Kent said. “Our work is not done; we are just getting started.”