In a significant operation, officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Virginia have captured a member of the notorious MS-13 gang, who is accused of committing mass murder in El Salvador.
According to a report by Fox News on Saturday, sources within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have confirmed the arrest of 27-year-old Edwin Antonio Hernandez.
Hernandez, who is also known by the nicknames “Demente” and “Crazy,” allegedly admitted to participating in five homicides.
In a decisive move in February 2025, the administration of President Donald Trump officially labeled MS-13, along with other similar entities, as foreign terrorist organizations. This information is reflected on the website of the U.S. Department of State.
Sources told Fox News that Hernandez recounted a particularly brutal murder where MS-13 members tortured, stabbed, and dismembered a rival from the 18th Street gang while he was still alive.
Fox News also reported that Hernandez initially entered the U.S. illegally in 2015 through Hidalgo, Texas. He was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents but was released during immigration proceedings. Subsequently, ICE apprehended him in Virginia for lacking a valid visa and entering the country unlawfully.
Hernandez claimed that in one of the murders, MS-13 tortured, stabbed, and dismembered an 18th Street gang member while he was still alive, sources told Fox.
The Fox article said he illegally entered the country in 2015 via Hidalgo, Texas, where U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested and released him amid immigration court proceedings. However, he was later nabbed by ICE in Virginia due to being in the country without a proper visa and for entering illegally.
“DHS sources told Fox News Digital he was arrested after USCIS referred him to ICE,” the article stated.
It is important to note that on her first day in office, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) ended the rule requiring law enforcement to cooperate with ICE as the Trump administration works to safeguard American communities from illegal alien crime, per – News.
Prior to Spanberger taking office, the Trump administration arrested a top MS-13 gang member in her state and MS-13 gang members in the country illegally were accused in May of stabbing Virginia correctional officers at a prison in Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
– News noted in November that ICE continued arresting illegal alien child sex abusers, rapists, and drug smugglers in Virginia.
