Silvia Lorena Bonilla-De Jandres/El Salvador/MS-13 Street Gang

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and Virginia State Police, apprehended Silvia Lorena Bonilla-De Jandres, 40, an illegal Salvadoran national and documented member of the notorious MS-13 street gang wanted in El Salvador for extortion, blackmail and terrorist affiliation.

Bonilla illegally entered the United States, Feb. 21, 2016, near Rio Grande Valley, Texas and was arrested, whereby deportation proceedings began.

Authorities in El Salvador issued a warrant for Bonilla’s arrest, Aug. 28, 2017, charging her with aggravated extortion, blackmail and terrorist affiliation due to her documented MS-13 membership, according to a Red Notice issued by Interpol.

On July 11, 2024, a Department of Justice immigration judge ordered Bonilla removed from the United States to El Salvador, but she wasn’t arrested until the Trump administration.

“Silvia Lorena Bonilla-De Jandres is not only the member of a transnational criminal enterprise known for violence, she has also apparently attempted to flee justice in her home country and hide out in Northern Virginia,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Russ Hott said in a statement.

“We will not allow our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities to become safe havens for the world’s bad actors. ICE Washington, D.C. remains dedicated to our mission of prioritizing public safety and protecting our residents by arresting and removing illegal alien offenders.”