Feds offer up to $5M for MS-13 leader's arrest, conviction
Federal prosecutors said that Archaga Carias, also known as Alexander Mendoza and "Porky," was charged in 2021 for killing competitors in Honduras, money laundering and coordinating multi-ton shipments of cocaine into the United States, among other crimes.
He's considered the highest-ranking member of the violent street gang, federal prosecutors said. If convicted, Archaga Carias could face a mandatory minimum of 40 years in prison. He could also be sentence to life. There is no parole in the federal system.
"This terrorist leader can no longer be allowed to live free as MS-13's evil devastates communities in America and throughout the western hemisphere," Attorney General Pam Bondi said. "If you can contribute information leading to his arrest - come forward now."
The Justice Department said only tips sent to the U.S. government would qualify for the reward. People can contact their local FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations offices with information about Archaga Carias. Those outside of the nation can contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The arrests and convictions can be in any country, the department said.
The Department of State is offering the reward under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program.
"President (Donald) Trump has been very clear -- we will not allow criminal groups and their members like Porky to threaten Americans," said F. Cartwright Weiland, a senior bureau official of the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Terrorism designation changes mission on MS-13
The Department of State designated the gang as a foreign terrorist organization on Feb. 20. It originated in Los Angeles and rapidly grew in Central America following several members' deportations.
MS-13 is short for Mara Salvatrucha. The origins of the name are unclear, but the gang was founded in the 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants to protect themselves from other gangs in LA, including the rival 18th Street gang. MS-13 gang members have been accused and convicted of high-profile killings, kidnappings and drug trafficking in the U.S. In March, a leader of the gang was arrested in Virginia.
Related: Trump administration captured 'very violent' top street gang leader. What is MS-13?
Acting Administrator of the DEA Derek Maltz said MS-13's designation changes the rules and the mission on the gang.
"Archaga Carias isn't just a fugitive -- he's a foreign terrorist waging war on innocent Americans through murder, trafficking, and terror," he said. "Let me be clear: under this Administration, we will dismantle MS-13 piece by piece-- and anyone protecting him will fall with him. A $5 million reward is on the table. Turn him in. End this threat."
Dismantling, eliminating a high priority for FBI, director says
FBI Director Kash Patel said in the April 21 announcement that one of the bureau's top priorities would be to topple MS-13 and the agency isn't "stopping until that mission is complete."
Charges stemmed from the 2021 indictment out of New York State, charging Archaga Carias, David Campbell, Juan Carlos Portullo, Victor Eduardo Morales Zelaya and Jorge Alberto Velasquez Paz with several crimes relating to supplying illicit drugs and firearms to protect multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Honduras to the United States, according to the Justice Department.
"Archaga Carias contracted out members of MS-13 as 'Sicarios,' or hit men, to DTOs for payment," federal prosecutors said. "Members of MS-13 committed numerous murders for hire for DTOs trafficking cocaine through Honduras to the United States."
They added that Archaga Carias and other MS-13 members supplied organizations with machineguns and other firearms from El Salvador, Nicaragua and elsewhere. The MS-13 leader has ordered the murders of rival gang members and drug competitors in Honduras, including fellow gang members he felt were disloyal.
Campbell, a Honduran man who is also known as Viejo Dan and Don David, is in custody. The Justice Department said he was well-involved in the scheme as the main supplier of drugs and firearms and coordinating violent retaliation hits with Archaga Carias. The department added Campbell and MS-13 used businesses they owned or controlled to launder drug proceeds.
Morales Zelaya, known as Cuervo, and Velasquez Paz, known as Chacarro, are Honduran and at large, prosecutors said. They said Morales Zelaya was a national leader who also coordinated the gang's drug trafficking business, murders and other violent acts against rivals. No further information was provided on Velasquez Paz's involvement in the case.
Portillo Santos, known as Juancy, is in custody in Honduras and serving a "lengthy prison sentence," according to federal prosecutors. He reported to Morales Zelaya and led MS-13 in one of Honduras' largest sectors.
"This office, working closely with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate, prosecute and track down MS-13's leadership, no matter where in the world they may be hiding," said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Matthew Podolsky.
Feds nab MS-13 members across the nation
Trump's aggressive stance on wiping out MS-13 has resulted in Mexico extraditing Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales to the U.S. to face charges relating to his activity as a gang leader in the U.S. But the president's approach was met with controversy after Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia, who is originally from El Salvador, lived in Maryland with his wife and family and works as a sheet metal worker. The Trump Administration deported him in March for his supposed membership with MS-13 based on a confidential informant and the clothes the Maryland man wore in a 2019 encounter with police.
Abrego Garcia maintains his innocence and says he's not part of the gang. His family sued, saying he was denied due process. A U.S. District Court judge ordered his return to the U.S. A unanimous Supreme Court also ordered his return. U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and others traveled to the Central American country for Abrego Garcia's release.
Neither has swayed the Trump Administration, or Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, from coordinating Abrego Garcia's removal from El Salvador's notorious Center for the Confinement of Terrorism prison. Bukele said during an April 14 meeting with Trump that he would not free Abrego Garcia.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an April 16 briefing that Abrego Garcia isn't a "Maryland father."
"Let me reiterate, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is an illegal alien, MS-13 gang member and foreign terrorist who was deported back to his home country," she said.
Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at knurse@USATODAY.com. Follow her on X @KrystalRNurse, and on BlueSky @krystalrnuse.bsky.social.
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