An alleged MS-13 chief accused of working with an assassination squad that executed 4 individuals in Honduras, together with the son of the nation’s former president, was capable of get hold of a California driver’s license utilizing his actual identification, federal officers revealed Tuesday.
Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, aka “Fantasma,” crossed into the US illegally from Mexico in 2022 after allegedly bribing his means out of a Honduran jail — however his prolonged style of freedom was lastly dashed on Monday when federal brokers nabbed him in Nebraska, in accordance with the Division of Justice.
Earlier than the 33-year-old Honduran nationwide was arrested he by some means managed to get a driver’s license within the Golden State, offering a thumbprint which was ultimately used to substantiate the worldwide fugitive’s identification, prosecutors stated in a prison criticism in opposition to Cuadra Soto.
It’s unclear which California DMV workplace issued the unlawful migrant a license.
Simply final month, California revoked 17,000 licenses after the Trump administration raised issues about unlawful immigrants improperly receiving them to drive vehicles or buses.
The crackdown got here after Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old unlawful immigrant trucker with a California license, allegedly plowed his tractor trailer into eight vehicles, killing three individuals in a horrific pile-up within the state.
A state regulation handed in 2013 permits Californians to use for a driver’s license with out proof of their immigration standing if they will set up their identification and California residency, go a driving take a look at, a imaginative and prescient take a look at, and present proof of insurance coverage.
It’s not clear how Soto was capable of show these necessities.
Because the regulation took impact in 2015, over 1 million undocumented immigrants have obtained licenses, in accordance with reviews.
The Submit has reached out to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s workplace for remark.
Federal authorities caught up with Cuadra Soto in Grand Island, Nebraska the place he was residing in an residence. He was charged in federal courtroom with unlawful entry of an unlawfully current alien.
Based mostly on surveillance video, police reviews, and witness interviews, Cuadra Soto was a part of a “skilled assassination squad” that murdered 4 people on the morning of July 14, 2022 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
One of many victims was former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa’s son, Mentioned Lobo Bonilla, Fox Information reported.
4 days after the quadruple slaying, Cuadra Soto allegedly bribed Honduran officers with $125,000 to get out of jail, the place he was being held on firearms prices linked to the killings.
Federal officers referred to as Cuadra Soto a frontrunner of MS-13, which has been designated as a terrorist group below the Trump administration.
Honduran authorities recognized Cuadra Soto as an in depth affiliate of Yulan Archaga Carias, often called “Porky,” who’s believed to be the boss of MS-13 in Honduras, in accordance with Fox Information. He’s listed on the FBI’s Most Needed Record.
