HOUSTON — A high-ranking leader of MS-13 was arrested as he arrived at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport Sunday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Authorities said the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations took Cesar Humberto Lopez-Larios into custody on June 9. He's charged with conspiracy to provide and conceal material support to terrorists, conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to finance terrorism and narco-terrorism conspiracy.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said Lopez-Larios also goes by "Grenas de Stoners" and "Oso de Stoners." He's been wanted by federal officials for more than three years.
“The arrest of Lopez-Larios, who is one of the most senior leaders of MS-13 in the world, is a significant achievement for law enforcement and another crucial step in the dismantling of this international criminal enterprise,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “The defendant will soon face a reckoning in a federal courtroom on Long Island where, acting on his orders, MS-13 has spilled so much blood and turned communities into war zones.”
Lopez-Larios has allegedly been an MS-13 leader for around two decades. The U.S. Attorney's Office said he was an original member of the gang's "Twelve Apostles of the Devil" before becoming a member of the Ranfla Nacional, which expanded the gang's influence internationally.
He is yet to be arraigned. That will take place in the Eastern District of New York.
“Now that Mr. Lopez-Larios is behind bars, he's no longer in his alleged position of power directing a reign of terror, nor enriching MS-13 and their cartel associates,” FBI Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge Hawkins said.