The Mara Salvatrucha 'has been in the US for years'

Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Víctor Ávila celebrated the gang member's arrest by U.S. authorities. Ávila spoke with Karina Yapor on Voz Media's "Voz News," where he analyzed the latest developments from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Following the announcement by DHS authorities of the arrest of a leader of the Mara Salvatrucha criminal organization in Washington, D.C., the former agent noted that arrests of these criminals on U.S. soil have recently increased. However, "many of them are still in this country."

"It is a group that is now considered and designated as a terrorist group because it is a group that comes from El Salvador and has been in the United States for many, many years especially many are concentrated in the northeastern part of the United States, from Washington upwards in New York and they have a history of violence, violence not just against Americans but against their own people," Avila said.

"They have been arrested for horrible crimes, talking about rapes, homicides and the type of homicides they have committed are something that many people don't imagine. That's why they were designated as such and I am pleased that at last many of them have been captured," he added.

At the same time, the former official highlighted the importance of letting the countries of this continent know the "new tone of this Administration in the fight against crime."

The complete interview with Víctor Ávila