U.S. Customs and Border Protection

EDINBURG – (News Release) Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents arrested three Salvadoran gang members and a Guatemalan previously convicted of sexual abuse.

On March 18, McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) agents apprehended a group of 13 migrants near the Hidalgo and Starr County line. At the station, record checks revealed a Salvadoran national traveling with the group is an 18th Street gang member.

The following morning, MCS agents apprehended a group of four adult males south of Mission. Record checks on a Salvadoran national revealed he is a Mara-Salvatrucha gang member, with multiple removals from the U.S. dating back to 2014.

That evening, agents apprehended 15 individuals in a failed smuggling event in Mission. A male subject from El Salvador with multiple gang tattoos admitted to being an 18th Street gang member.

On March 20, MCS agents apprehended a group of four migrants, to include an unaccompanied 16-year-old, near Hidalgo. Record checks on a Guatemalan national revealed he was convicted of sexual abuse in Buena Vista, Colorado, in 2009 and was subsequently sentenced to two years confinement.

All subjects were processed accordingly.