Agents arrest suspected MS-13 gang member

Agents arrest suspected MS-13 gang member

Posted on Wed, Aug. 30, 2006

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/15400749.htm

Associated Press

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Border Patrol agents aided by National Guard members arrested a 22-year-old suspected member of the violent Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang on Wednesday as he tried to re-enter the United States, Customs and Border Protection said.

Andres Gonzalo Manzaneres, of El Salvador, was one of nine illegal immigrants spotted by National Guard members monitoring images from surveillance cameras placed near the Los Tomates international bridge in Brownsville.

The Guard members alerted Border Patrol agents in the field, who arrested the immigrants.

Agents processing Manzaneres noticed MS-13 style tattoos on his body, and said a fingerprint scan turned up a lengthy criminal history including prior deportation and a conviction for armed robbery in Los Angeles on Aug. 31, 2001.

Manzaneres is being detained pending removal proceedings and criminal prosecution for re-entry after deportation.

MS-13 originated in Los Angeles among immigrants from El Salvador. It later spread throughout the U.S. and to Central America.