More than two dozen alleged leaders and members of the violent gang MS-13 have been arrested and charged, officials announced Wednesday, part of a federal law enforcement operation aimed at disrupting the criminal group's leadership. 

President Donald Trump, who has vowed to destroy the group, announced the development Wednesday at the White House, flanked by Attorney General William Barr and other senior law enforcement officials. 

“We’ve just concluded a historic operation, leading to the arrest and indictment of dozens of savage MS-13 members and leaders all across the country,” Trump said, referring to a 2019 operation launched to target high-level MS-13 leaders. The initiative is known as Joint Task Force Vulcan. 

In 2017, Trump issued an executive order directing the Justice Department and the federal agencies to “dismantle” transnational criminal organizations such as MS-13.

Trump said that over the past three years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of the Department of Homeland Security, has deported more than 16,000 gang members and arrested more than 2,000 MS-13 members.

Source: VOA news