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Home Front: WoT

MS-13 assassins targeting border agents

2006-01-10

WND. Salt as needed. A confidential memo from federal officials warns Border Patrol agents they could be the targets of assassins hired by the smugglers of illegal aliens. The memo, dated Dec. 21, states smugglers plan to bring members of the Mara Salvatruchas gang – also known as MS-13 –into the U.S. to target the border agents. According to the Associated Press, the alert, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, notes that illegal aliens have become increasingly annoyed by recent efforts to tighten the southern border of the United States. Aliens from El Salvador began MS-13 in Los Angeles but also has a presence in Central America. The gang has been linked to al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations. Members have been known to behead victims and attack with grenades and machetes. Federal officials estimate between 8,000 and 10,000 MS-13 members live in 31 states – the majority of them in the country illegally. Some 103 suspected members of the gang were rounded up during a seven-city operation in March. As WorldNetDaily reported, on New Year's weekend, as many as 20 shots were fired from Mexico at agents near Brownsville, Texas, in the most recent of a series of incidents involving gunplay and other violence directed at Americans from south of the Rio Grande River. The gunfire did not appear to be a random action and that the attacker – who was not identified in reports – was most likely a trained shooter, KRGV-TV, ABC's Brownsville affiliate, said.

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Home Front: WoT

Memo Warns of MS 13 Plans to Kill Police Officers

2005-10-27

Federal agents believe they've intercepted intelligence from the notorious Mara Salvatruchas gang who seem to be planning to assassinate federal and local police in the coming days. They have forwarded a safety memo to area authorities. In the intelligence bulletin obtained by Action 4 News, a confidential informant in Virginia claims the Mara Salvatruchas have designated October 30 as "Kill A Law Enforcement Officer Day"... Juan? Jesus? What are you doing in Gitmo?

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Home Front: WoT

Violent, terror-connected gang threatens to confront civilian immigration patrols

2005-03-07

It looks like there is going to be a second "showdown at the OK Corral" in Tombstone, Ariz., April 1. A leader of the violent, terror-connected Latin American gang Mara Salvatruchas, Ebner Anivel Rivera-Paz, has reportedly issued orders from federal prison to members of his international criminal organization to teach a lesson to a group of Americans taking border control into their own hands. The American civilians, known as the "Minutemen," say they have some 750 volunteers ready to show up in Tombstone to start policing the border and dealing with illegal immigration. The Mara Salvatruchas, founded in Los Angeles, has become one of the most violent and widespread gangs throughout South America, the U.S. and even Canada. Many of its members and leaders have been deported from the U.S., but the group is said to be deeply involved in cross-border arms-running and drug-smuggling operations, according to U.S. law enforcement sources. Lately, the gang has joined forces with former members of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, a radical terrorist group, and some U.S. intelligence sources say they may also be cooperating with Islamic terrorist groups — including al-Qaida. Meanwhile, the Minutemen hope to form a group of civilians from all walks of life to patrol the border day and night — even with the threat of such violence. Their goal is stop the flow of illegal immigration through the Arizona-Mexico border, the biggest entry point into the U.S... Nothing quite like a scheduled terrorist attack.

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Caribbean-Latin America

Another Mara Salvatrucha rolled up

2005-03-01

An El Salvador man remained in federal custody Monday after he allegedly kidnapped his 22-month-old son from Houston and then tried to smuggle three Central American immigrants into the United States last week. Mexican authorities said they arrested Fredy Antonio Fuentes Gutierrez, 29, Thursday after they received information that he was staying in the area. Fuentes allegedly kidnapped his son from his mother Brenda Alvarez in Houston and took him to Mexico last week. Alvarez could not be reached for comment Monday. Houston area law enforcement officials could not confirm the kidnapping report at press time. Fuentes remained in custody Monday at a federal prison west of Matamoros on charges of illegally entering Mexico. Officials with the Mexican federal attorney general's office said the El Salvador native could also face human smuggling charges for allegedly taking between $2,000 and $3,000 to smuggle three Central American immigrants into the United States. One of the immigrants identified Fuentes as a member of Mara Salvatruchas, a Central American gang accused of operating large smuggling rings with alleged connections to al-Qaida. Law enforcement officials said Monday they now believe that Fuentes might belong to a different gang. "He belonged to another gang," said Mario Rubiano Ruiz with the federal attorney general's office. "We didn't find any of the identifying tattoos for members of Mara Salvatruchas that we usually see such as the letters 'M-S' or the number '13.'" Although Rubiano did not identify the suspected gang connection, he said they were just as dangerous as Mara Salvatruchas. U.S. Consul John Naland said a woman contacted the consulate early last week and told them that Fuentes had kidnapped their child and taken him to Mexico. The woman gave consulate officials the father and child's names as well as the hotel where they had been staying. Naland said the consulate passed the information to Mexican authorities. Cmdr. Omar Alanís with Tamaulipas State Police said his men found Fuentes and the three immigrants Thursday afternoon driving in a black Toyota Land Cruiser on the highway to Playa Bagdad near the intersection of Avenidas Teotihuacän and Lauro Villar. They were handed over to federal immigration authorities and are expected to return to their countries of origin. Alanís said his men arrested Fuentes and notified the American Consulate in Matamoros and met the child's mother at one of the international bridges. "Mexican police and immigration officials were very good in getting the child back to his mother," Naland said.

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Caribbean-Latin America

More on Mara Salvatruchas

2004-09-10

They are called the Mara Salvatruchas. A gang from El Salvador. Its members are said to be dangerous and vicious. They, along with Honduran gangs are reportedly being trained by al Qaeda terrorists to infiltrate the U.S. through Mexico. And local law enforcement authorities and even some members of congress say some gang members are already here. But inside the prison in Matamoros, the message is very different. After getting through the well armed guards at the gate--Mexican authorities led us through the prison to this inmate. He is from Nicaragua. He's been in the Matamoros prison for over four years. He's convicted of bringing illegal central Americans immigrants through Mexico in an effort to get them into the U.S. He claims there are no Mara Salvatruchas in this prison. Despite reports on this side of the border that the gangs can be found in Matamoros prisons. "I have been here for four years and I've not seen any of those gang members," said inmate Eligio Sanchez Hernandez.

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