Border Patrol Agents Arrest MS13 Gang Member in Maine

On Tuesday morning, a 27-year-old man was suspected of being affiliated with the MS-13 gang, according to WMTW.

He is from El Salvador and according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, was arrested on Massachusetts Avenue in Portland.

According to the report, he was taken in around 6:00pm in an unmarked car with confused residents.  

Who is the MS13 Gang?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, MS-13, also known as the Mara Salvatrucha, is a criminal gang that began in Los Angeles during the 1980s.

The gang was formed by Salvadoran immigrants for mutual protection. And over time it evolved into an extremely violent organization involving criminal activities, including drug trafficking, extortion, and homicide, with gangs across the United States and Central America.

As per the report, agents with the U.S. Border Patrol’s Anti-Smuggling Unit reported they identified the man as being in the country illegally.  

Portland resident, David Zall witnessed the arrest and said to WMTW,

"It looked more like a kidnapping than an arrest, They zip-tied him, threw him in the back of a truck, and sped off.” 

Take a look at the WMTW YouTube report below.

The man is currently being detained and awaiting "removal proceedings" and will eventually be sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations.

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Juan G. Bernal who is the chief of U.S. Border Patrol's Houlton Sector said,

"The U.S. Border Patrol is committed to putting dangerous terrorists and violent gang-members behind bars," 

So far this year, 2025, Border Patrol reports arresting over 200 gang members nationwide, including members of MS-13 and Tren De Aragua. 

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