MIAMI – Federal authorities in Miami arrested suspected gang members, as part of a national operation that netted citizens from 13 countries in the Caribbean, Central America, Asia and Europe.
Agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigation's Miami field office arrested 26 as part of the operation, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tamara Spicer said Tuesday.
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Among those caught this month in Homestead, a Miami-Dade County suburb with a population of transient agricultural workers, were suspected gang members of MS-13, also known as the Mara Salvatrucha, according to photos ICE released.
The operation's goal was to "eradicate the violence they inflict upon our communities and to stop the cash flow to transnational organized crime groups operating overseas," ICE Director Sarah Saldaña said in a statement.
The operation, authorities were calling Project Shadowfire, netted 1,133 suspects. During the arrests in cities across the nation, federal agents reported seizing 20 kilograms of narcotics, about $70,000 in currency and 150 firearms.
The arrests during the five weeks included some 915 gang members and associates and 239 foreign nationals -- out of whom 132 had immigration violations, according to federal authorities.
"What we are seeing is that the gangs are becoming a little bit more organized as gang members enter the United States, whether it's legally or illegally," HSI's executive associate director Peter Edge said.
Among those caught were also members of M-13 rivals, the Bloods, an African-American gang that according to Miami-Dade County gang unit detectives is active in South Florida.
And there were also members of the M-13 ally gang the Mexican Sureños, also known as Sur 13, and their enemies the Norteños, an affiliate of the Northern California "Nuestra Familia" gang. The gangs engage on narcotics smuggling, human smuggling and sex trafficking, murder and racketeering.
"It all boils down to the reward that they get and the reward is money, so if they are able to come up with a narcotics smuggling scheme or human smuggling scheme for which they are paid and if they are successful, it tends to grow," Edge said.