"As part of a multi-agency operation, more than 20 individuals associated with Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) were arrested in Mendota and Los Angeles, California on federal and state charges in connection with their gang activities, including assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances," the release said.
President Donald Trump has called members of the gang animals and charged that weak US immigration laws have given the gang easy access to the United States.
The gang was formed by US refugees from El Salvador’s civil war in the 1980s and has since grown to an international organization that is active throughout Central America, especially in El Salvador, and in at least ten US states, according to published reports.
READ MORE: 'Animal': Trump's Comment Understates Peril of MS-13 Gang Members — ICE