A notorious criminal listed among El Salvador’s most-wanted gang members has been captured on U.S. soil, federal officials announced. According to Fox News, Antonio Israel Lazo-Quintanilla was arrested earlier this month in Maryland after police stopped him for driving without a license, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Though this marks Lazo-Quintanilla’s first known encounter with law enforcement in the United States, authorities confirmed he is wanted in El Salvador for serious crimes including aggravated homicide, extortion, and drug possession. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin emphasized that the arrest highlights ICE’s focus on detaining the most dangerous offenders. She described Lazo-Quintanilla, who bears a distinctive “666” tattoo on his forehead, as a clear public safety threat despite lacking a violent criminal record in the U.S.
“Seventy percent of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the United States,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “This gang member on El Salvador’s most wanted list is a perfect example of ICE targeting the worst of the worst.”
“He may lack a violent rap sheet in the U.S., but this criminal illegal alien is clearly a public safety threat,” she added.
Lazo-Quintanilla is also a confirmed member of the 18th Street Gang, which the Trump administration labeled a foreign terrorist organization, according to DHS. This gang is known as one of the largest criminal groups in the hemisphere, responsible for attacks on security forces, officials, and civilians across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
The arrest underscores ongoing efforts by federal authorities to apprehend dangerous gang members living illegally in the United States before they can harm Americans.
McLaughlin confronted what she said is “the media’s false claims that ICE is not arresting the worst of the worst simply has no grounding,” explaining that, “in reality, ICE is arresting criminal illegal aliens before they can victimize Americans.”