Ismael Enrique Mendoza Flores/El Salvador/Aggravated Homicide, Illicit Associations

U.S. immigration officers arrested Salvadoran national Ismael Enrique Mendoza Flores, identified by authorities as MS-13 gang leader “El Calaco,” in Alexandria, Virginia, on October 2, 2025.

Salvadoran officials have issued an active arrest warrant for him on charges of aggravated homicide and illicit associations, and he appears on the Salvadoran National Police list of most-wanted gang members tied to violent offenses.​

Before his federal arrest, Mendoza Flores was recently arrested in the region for unauthorized use of a vehicle, though no additional U.S. convictions are noted in current reports.

ICE and DHS officials say his capture in Northern Virginia was part of a broader immigration enforcement and public-safety effort to remove high-ranking MS-13 figures wanted for serious crimes abroad, and he is now in immigration custody while authorities coordinate removal and any proceedings associated with the Salvadoran warrant.