According to Border Patrol officials, a member of the notorious MS-13 gang was captured, posing as a minor traveling as part of the “migrant caravan” which was making its way toward the U.S. border.
Some parts of the so-called caravan are also now arriving on United States soil.
Agents at the Yuma Station discovered a large group of immigrants who crossed the border illegally this week near southern Arizona. The group contained 1 Mexican national, 59 Guatemalans, and one Salvadoran. The Salvadoran claimed to be a minor, unaccompanied, and this is when they caught him.
The man, 18-year-old Herberth Geovani Argueta-Chavez, is a known member of MS-13 and told agents he was “trying to separate from the gang” according to a statement released by Border Patrol.
As reported by Bob Price for Breitbart News:
“We questioned the members of the group and confirmed they are part of the caravan of Central American’s who are reported to be traveling to the U.S.,” Border Patrol spokesman Justin Kallinger told Breitbart Texas.
After taking the group of 61 foreign nationals into custody, agents determined that one of the people claiming to be an unaccompanied minor was actually an adult. The Honduran man also confessed to being a member of MS-13 and said he was headed to Los Angeles.
Kallinger noted that the Yuma Sector has seen “an uptick in larger groups,” mostly from Guatemala and Honduras.
Of those in the group of 60 migrants, more than ninety percent were unaccompanied minors or “family reunites,” he explained. The juveniles ranged in age from one-year to 17.
Border Patrol agents determined that one of the people claiming to be an unaccompanied minor was actually an adult. The man also confessed to being a member of MS-13 and said he was headed to Los Angeles.
Officials identified the Salvadoran as 18-year-old Herberth Geovani Argueta-Chavez. The MS-13 gang member told agents he was “trying to separate from the gang,” Border Patrol officials stated.