MS-13 senior leader, who oversaw murders and kidnappings and wanted in New York, is arrested in Southern California after four years on the run

A senior MS-13 leader - tied to murders, kidnappings and other violent crime - is in federal custody after he was arrested in California earlier this month. 

Freddy Iván Jandres-Parada was on the run since December 2020 after he and 14 other high-ranking MS-13 members were indicted in the Eastern District of New York federal court.

Jandres-Parada, a native of El Salvador, was apprehended on terrorism charges by the FBI in San Diego on March 7.

The 48-year-old had waived his right to bail, court records show.

Federal prosecutors in New York identified Jandres-Parada and the other 13 defendants as members of the criminal organization's board of directors, known as the Ranfla Nacional.

Freddy Iván Jandres-Parada, one of the top MS-13 leaders, was captured by the FBI in San Diego on March 7. He was indicted on terrorism charges by a New York federal court in December 2020

Federal prosecutors accuse Jandres-Parada and 13 other high-ranking MS-13 leaders of plotting and executing acts of violence and murder in El Salvador, the United States and other countries

Two other members, César Humberto López-Larios and Hugo Armando Quinteros-Mineros, are still on the run. 

Authorities allege around 2002, the Ranfla Nacional and two other MS-13 cells plotted and executed acts of violence and murder in El Salvador, the United States and other countries.

Jandres-Parada and the 13 defendants allegedly orchestrated acts of violence against civilians, law enforcement and rival gang members.

They are also accused of distributing drugs and implicated in multiple incidents of extortion.

MS-13 gang members underwent training in camps that resembled the military and were provided military-style weapons, including improvised explosive devices and rocket launchers.

In 2012, Ranfla Nacional members allegedly reached deals with the El Salvador government in exchange for 'benefits and concessions' that were obtained by unleashing a wave of violence that threatened and intimidated civilians while also targeting officials in the armed forces and police, and interfering with elections in El Salvador.

The Ranfla Nacional expanded MS-13 operations outside El Salvador's borders and purchased weapons from Mexican criminal organizations, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel, and became involved in human trafficking and smuggling.

Police officers in riot gear guarding the arrival of inmates belonging to the MS-13 and 18 gangs to the new prison 'Terrorist Confinement Centre'

Handout picture released by the Press Secretary of the Presidency of El Salvador showing police officers keeping watch during the arrival of inmates belonging to the MS-13 and 18 gangs to the new prison 'Terrorist Confinement Centre' 

The United States District Court, Eastern District of New York charged him with he was charged with conspiring to provide and conceal material support and resource to terrorists, conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiring to finance terrorism and narco-terrorism conspiracy. 

MS-13, also known as La Mara Salvatrucha, recruits young teenagers from El Salvador and Honduras, though many gang members were born in the U.S.

The gang has been blamed for dozens of killings since January 2016 across a wide swath of Long Island.

The gang's influence and violence on Long Island has waned in recent years amid a federal crackdown.

Former President Donald Trump made rooting out MS-13 a focus of his administration and visited Long Island several times to meet with law enforcement officials and the families of the gang's victims.

MS-13 is suspected of forging alliances with Mexican cartels and engaging in narcotics trafficking; immigrant smuggling and extortion; kidnappings; and weapons trafficking.