ICE arrests 23 gang members, associates during Houston operation targeting MS-13

HOUSTON — Special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston – along with various federal, state and local law enforcement agencies – arrested 23 gang members and gang associates during a 26-day surge operation targeting MS-13 gang members in the Houston area, which ended May 31. Thirteen of those arrested during this operation are confirmed MS-13 gang members or gang associates.

Three of the MS-13 gang members, all Salvadoran nationals, were arrested on murder charges: Francisco Flores-Salazar, 19, Mario Guevara-Flores, 26, and Francisco Alberto Ancheta-Aquino, 21.

As gang activity has increased in Houston in recent years, HSI Houston and the Texas Anti-Gang (TAG) Center have ramped up their law enforcement efforts to confront the problem head-on.

“Transnational criminal gangs like MS-13 pose an immediate threat to the safety and security of our local communities,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Mario Trevino. “Our ongoing efforts with our law enforcement partners targeting gang activity helps make our communities safer for everyone to live and work.”

The following law enforcement agencies assisted with HSI Houston’s 26-day anti-gang operation: Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division; Houston Police Department; Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Houston; HSI El Salvador’s Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit; Harris County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office; U.S. Marshals Service Houston; Houston Independent School District Police Department; and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Houston.

In fiscal year 2018, HSI arrested 959 MS-13 gang members and associates nationwide.