MS-13 leader among the FBI's most wanted apprehended at southern border

Earlier this month, a senior leader of the brutal MS-13 gang and one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, Freddy Ivan Jandres-Parada was apprehended at the San Ysidro Port of Entry at the border of San Diego, California, and Mexico. 

According to Court Watch, the 48-year-old was caught on March 7 after being on the run for narco-terrorism charges for nearly four years. A detention order showed that Jandres-Parada voluntarily waived his right to bail. 

Jandres-Parada is accused of being a member of "Ranfla Nacional" which acts as a board of directors for the MS-13 gang. Prosecutors in the case allege that the board "controlled the process for recruitment of new members and advancement to higher ranks” and murders for the organization are approved by it.  

An FBI wanted poster offered $10,000 for any information that led to Jandres-Parada. It said he was "wanted for his alleged involvement in the direction of MS-13 activity in the United States, Mexico, and El Salvador." 

"He is alleged to be among the most senior leaders of MS-13 worldwide," the agency continued. "Jandres-Parada has been charged with several terrorism offenses for his alleged role in ordering numerous acts of violence against civilians, law enforcement, and rival gang members, as well as drug distribution and extortion schemes worldwide." 

Since December 2020, the 48-year-old had been wanted in New York on charges of Conspiracy to Provide and Conceal Material Support and Resources to Terrorists, Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Terrorism Transcending National Boundaries, Conspiracy to Finance Terrorism, and Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy. 

Then U.S. Attorney Seth Ducharme said of the gang in 2021, "MS-13 is responsible for a wave of death and violence that has terrorized communities, leaving neighborhoods on Long Island and throughout the Eastern District of New York awash in bloodshed." 

"Even when incarcerated, the Ranfla Nacional continued to direct MS-13’s global operations, recruit new members, including children, into MS-13, and orchestrate murder and mayhem around the world," he added.