MS-13 gang member with violent history captured while crossing U.S. border

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) arrested a confirmed MS-13 gang member with a violent criminal history as he was trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border this week, according to a press release by the Office of the Texas Governor. 

DPS Texas Rangers Special Operations Group found Honduran gang member Emerson Lopez Fugon hiding on a train in Maverick County near Eagle Pass. 

MS-13, the gang Lopez Fugon belongs to, was established in Los Angeles by Central American migrants from El Salvador and Guatemala. The gang, whose motto is “kill, rape, control,” is known for committing violent crimes throughout the U.S. and Central America.

MS-13 has an estimated 70,000 members. 

Lopez Fugon has a long history of violent crimes, including kidnapping, abduction, and sexual violence, according to the press release. 

"If not for @TxDPS & Gov. @GregAbbott_TX’s Operation Lone Star, Lopez Fugon, a confirmed MS-13 gang member w/ a violent criminal history, would have made it further into the interior," Texas DPS spokesperson Chris Olivarez said in a tweet. 

"It’s the men & women who proudly wear the Texas Tan that are on the front lines arresting criminals & protecting our state & country."

Lopez Fugon is the latest criminal to be captured by Texas authorities in Operation Lone Star—an initiative launched in 2021 by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to crack down on undocumented immigration in the state. 

Since Operation Lone Star was launched, more than 406,500 undocumented migrants have been apprehended, in addition to more than 32,700 criminal arrests and 29,900 felony charges reported. 

“Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Joe Biden's open border policies,” reads the press release.