FUREY: U.S. border agents arrest Central American gang member entering via Canada
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A member of a violent Central American gang was taken down by U.S. border agents over the weekend shortly after entering the country via the Canadian border.
“A Peruvian national and a Mexican national were apprehended on June 23 near Averill, Vermont,” reads a press release sent out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday. “Record checks revealed that both subjects were previously deported. The Mexican national admitted to being a member of the 18th Street gang. Both individuals were processed for prosecution and removal.”
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Averill’s northern corner comes within several hundred metres of the Canada-U.S. border.
“He made illegal entry from Canada into the United States,” San Diego Sector Division Chief Mario Villareal told the Sun via email. “Additionally, when agents approached, both subjects ran but were arrested.”
It’s unknown when the gang member entered Canada and for how long he stayed. But Averill, Vermont, is only 100 kilometres east of Roxham Road, the highly publicized flashpoint for Canada’s influx of illegal border crossers.
“The gang member also physically resisted arrest but eventually complied to the agents’ commands,” Villareal added.
The 18th Street gang is one of the most violent in Central America, rivalling the feared MS-13 gang. It originally started in Los Angeles but migrated to Central America, where it became a deadlier organization.
“Border Patrol agents were able to identify their criminal histories and gang affiliation by a search of CBP and FBI biometric databases,” the release further explains.
Last month, the Sun first reported that the federal Criminal Intelligence Service Canada had sent an alert to police forces across the country warning them that MS-13 members were attempting to enter the country.
The Sun first reported in April that the U.S. was already sounding the alarm over people illegally crossing from Canada into the U.S. after arresting 20 people. At that time none of the border crossers were identified as gang members.
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