A high-ranking member of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) international gang is being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Jose Mojica Aldana, who had been charged with homicide in 2017 in his native country El Salvador, was living in the greater Annapolis area in Maryland at the time of his June 15 arrest by deportation officers with ICE ERO Baltimore Task Force Unit, a July 29 news release said. Assisting with the apprehension were ERO Baltimore’s Fugitive Operations and the FBI.
“This is a significant arrest and a substantial hit to MS-13 in the Annapolis area,” Lyle Boelens, field office director of the ERO Baltimore office, said in the release. “Not only is Mojica Aldana a high-ranking member of the gang, but he is also accused of numerous murders in El Salvador. ICE ERO Baltimore will continue to work tirelessly with our partner law enforcement agencies to keep the law-abiding citizens of Maryland safe from predators like Mojica Aldana.”
Mojica Aldana came into “the United States without being inspected, admitted or paroled by an immigration officer,” the release said.
The National Civil Police of El Salvador issued an arrest warrant March 6, 2017, for Mojica Aldana for homicide. ICE ERO Baltimore investigations found Mojica Aldana to be a high-ranking MS-13 member and member of the MS Fulton Locos Salvatruchos clique, a subset of the MS-13 street gang, the release said.
