Federal authorities have captured three MS-13 gang members with ties to multiple unsolved murders in the U.S., U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday. The arrests are part of Operation Shadow of the Beast, a coordinated effort to dismantle the violent transnational gang. The suspects—Jose Ezequiel Gamez-Maravilla, Hugo Adiel Bermudez-Martinez, and Wilber Rosendo Navarro-Escobar—were all living in the U.S. illegally.
According to Bondi, MS-13 isn’t just a street gang—it functions more like a domestic terror group, importing drugs, weapons, and bloodshed into American communities. The recent arrests bring the total number of successful prosecutions under the operation to six, with five guilty pleas and one trial conviction already secured.
Bondi emphasized the administration’s zero-tolerance approach, stating, “If you are a gang member in this country, I would self-deport right now because we are coming after you.” One of the gang’s top leaders, Josue Villatoro Santos, was also arrested last week, allegedly in possession of firearms, silencers, and other contraband.
The arrested suspects now face life in prison if convicted of the murders linked to the case. Law enforcement has warned that more arrests are forthcoming as the federal operation expands.
Earlier this week, the White House defended the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a convicted MS-13 gang member, after The Atlantic published a sympathetic profile labeling him a “Maryland dad” and attributing his removal to a mere “administrative error.” The Trump administration, however, maintains that Garcia was a verified gang member and posed a danger to public safety.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the matter during Tuesday’s briefing, describing the deportation as legally justified despite the clerical mistake. “The error that you are referring to was a clerical error. It was an administrative error,” Leavitt said. “This individual was a member of the brutal, ambitious MS-13 gang… and was involved in human trafficking.”
