Federal agents swarmed a townhouse in a quiet Prince William County, Virginia, neighborhood early Thursday and arrested a man who top Trump administration officials accuse of being a leader of the gang MS-13.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced the arrest.
Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, 24, was arrested in Dale City. Bondi described him as “one of the top leaders of MS-13” and “one of the top three for the entire country.”
Villatoro Santos was charged with federal crimes including possession of a firearm by a person who is in the country illegally and racketeering.
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“Because of operational security, we won’t get into too many details about this individual,” Patel said.
Bondi said he is from El Salvador and will be deported.
News4 and Telemundo44 spoke exclusively to Villatoro Santos’ mother. She shared copies of a federal search warrant affidavit. It shows agents seized multiple guns and ammunition, a letter from a jail outlining inmate "cliques,” and immigration documents.
The front door of Villatoro Santos’ mother’s home was smashed from a battering ram. Her rear sliding glass door was smashed out.
Neighbors said they didn’t suspect any criminal activity.
“I haven't seen any funny activity or anything. No traffic going in or out. Nothing strange,” one woman said.
What Gov. Youngkin said about arresting undocumented immigrants
Youngkin spoke in support of the law enforcement operation and the arrests of undocumented immigrants.
"It's time for us to recognize that Virginia is not a sanctuary state," the governor said. “[…] We are working to get the bad guys out of here.”
In his remarks, Youngkin accused Fairfax County of being a so-called sanctuary city.
“… Like Fairfax County, that has seen county leadership not pursue the necessary steps in order to fight this crime,” he said.
News4 reached out to Fairfax County Board Chairman Jeff McKay, who snapped back at Youngkin.
“There is no Fairfax County policy that prevents ICE from enforcing federal immigration law. We will comply with all valid judicial warrants,” he said in part.
Youngkin mentioned an amendment he made to Virginia's state budget to withhold state funding from localities that don't cooperate with ICE detainers. The amendment is likely dead on arrival to the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
"With all the talk of backing the blue and protecting law enforcement, the governor wants to defund the police over that. He doesn't want to give them collective bargaining rights,” said state Sen. Scott Surovell. “The governor talks out of both sides of the mouth when it comes to law enforcement. It's really kind of mystifying.”
Democrats applauded the arrest but noted Youngkin appears more in lockstep with President Donald Trump than ever before, after having notably distanced himself from Trump during his campaign and first couple of years in office. Youngkin now praises Trump and gives the administration all the credit for the arrest Thursday.
The Justice Department shared video of their announcement. Only select news outlets were invited to ask questions, and News4 was not notified of announcement plans in advance.
A Homeland Security task force made up of local, state and federal officials began an operation on March 3 to identify and arrest people who they say are violent gang members, Erik Siebert, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia said at the announcement. So far, they have identified 575 targets and arrested 342, he said.
At the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cited Villatoro Santos' arrest, calling it “a good day for our country.”
Trump has blamed violence and gang growth on lax immigration policies. In his first term as president, Trump promised an all-out fight against MS-13, saying he would “dismantle, decimate and eradicate” the gang.
Maryland woman says her husband was wrongly deported
As Trump officials deport people accused of having gang affiliations, some of their families say they were wrongly arrested.
A Maryland woman says her husband was picking up his kids in College Park earlier this month when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him. She spotted him on video inside a notorious Salvadoran prison and says he did nothing wrong.
“When they put him in the vehicle, they still took me to the vehicle and opened the door and told me to say goodbye to him,” the man's wife said.
“He just told me to take care of my kids, and I told him everything is going to be fine,” she said. “You’re going to come back, because you haven’t done nothing. You have your work permit.”
The man’s lawyer said, “I have never heard of anything like this happening, and any other lawyer that I talked to is also, I mean, the reaction is just one of shock, because this really is just a flagrantly ignoring the law,” she said. “This is completely illegal by any stretch of the imagination.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
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