PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – The identity of the top MS-13 gang leader who was arrested on Thursday morning in Dale City has been released.

MS-13 gang leader arrested

What we know:

The 24-year-old suspect has been identified as Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos. The suspect was illegally in possession of guns, silencers, and additional items at the time of his arrest.

READ MORE: What is MS-13? Here’s what we know

According to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, the arrest took place in Dale City on Thursday morning. 

The suspect was charged with being an undocumented immigrant in possession of a firearm.

AG Bondi shared officials have been working on this operation for days and weeks. The suspect apprehended was the top leader of MS-13 for the U.S. East Coast.

“He is an illegal alien from El Salvador, and he will not be living in our country much longer.” 

President Trump’s response

What they’re saying:

“Great job by Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Tom HOMAN, and Kristi N, on the capture of MS13 leader – A big deal!” President Donald Trump wrote on social media.

The Trump administration has deported several top members of MS-13 to El Salvador for incarceration.

The alleged US East Coast leader of the MS-13 gang has been arrested in Virginia, the US attorney general has announced.

The 24-year-old suspect from El Salvador was identified as one of the top three leaders in the United States of the street gang, which has a reputation for extreme violence, Pam Bondi said during a news conference after his arrest.

She told reporters: “The bad guy is in jail.”

“America is safer today because one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13… is off the streets.

“We want to make our schools safer. We want to make your neighbourhoods safer. This guy was living in a neighbourhood right around you, no longer.”

The Justice Department has not yet released the suspect’s name or detailed the charges against him.

The MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is an international criminal gang that was set up in Los Angeles in the 1980s. It was formed by immigrants who had fled El Salvador‘s civil war to protect Salvadoran immigrants from rival gangs.

The group was declared a terrorist organisation by the Trump administration last month.

In a Truth Social post, President Trump said: “Just captured a major leader of MS13”. He did not offer additional details.

Mr Trump has previously blamed the gang’s growth on lax immigration policies in the US.

Ms Bondi told reporters that the suspect was living illegally in the US, around 35 miles (56km) from Washington.

She said the suspect was recruited by the MS-13 at a young age, and led the gang’s operation on the East Coast.

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In 2016, two high school girls, Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, were killed on New York’s Long Island – bringing national attention to the gang.

The teenage friends were attacked with a machete and baseball bat by young men and teenagers who had stalked them from a car.

More killing followed in the subsequent months.

Over a dozen gang members have been indicted on terrorism charges – in relation to organised crime in the US, Mexico, and El Salvador – over the past two decades.

A Virginia mother who lost her son to fentanyl is trying to save others from the drug.

A bill named after her son was just signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

“I want my son’s legacy to be measured in lives saved,” Thurraya Kent said.

The News4 I-Team first spoke with the Kent family from Northern Virginia about their son, Malcolm, last year.

They shared that their son was an energetic, adventurous 17-year-old looking forward to graduating high school, when he died suddenly in January 2023.

“We found out from the medical examiner weeks later that it was from fentanyl poisoning,” Kent said.

The Kents learned Malcolm had taken something and rushed him to the emergency room.

“The emergency room, after a few hours, sent them home, and Malcolm died within a day – overnight.” Kent said.

Since Malcolm’s passing, his mother has been fighting to prevent other families from going through this.

She worked with State Del. Irene Shin on “Malcolm’s Law,” which requires hospitals in Virginia to test urine samples for fentanyl.

“The standard urine test does not test for fentanyl,” Kent said. “… The only person testing them is the medical examiner, which means when they seek treatment, they’re not getting all the information necessary to make sound treatment decisions.”

The governor signed Malcolm’s Law last week. It will go into effect Jan. 1.

“It can’t happen a day sooner,” Kent said. “And I know it won’t bring Malcolm back, but I’m prayerful that his legacy will now be measured in lives saved.”

There are similar bills in other states. Kent is working with moms who have lost loved ones to fentanyl on getting a federal bill passed.

Correction (Thursday, March 27, 5:41 a.m.): This story previously misspelled Malcolm Kent’s first name. It has been updated.