by Aaron Sanderford, Nebraska Examiner
July 9, 2025
OMAHA — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a man Wednesday from El Salvador that ICE described as one of that country’s most wanted criminals and said they had found him hiding in Nebraska’s largest city.
ICE did not identify the man, telling reporters the investigation was not yet complete. But in a Wednesday press release it described him as an “MS-13 kingpin” and said he was wanted for homicide.
Nebraska U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., in a statement posted on social media outlet X, thanked federal and local law enforcement agencies for working “around the clock to keep our Nebraska communities safe.”
The ICE release described the arrested leader as wanted in connection with the homicides of five people, an attempt on at least one more and affiliation with an gang it alleged engaged in terrorism.
Federal law enforcement officials announced that he was arrested with another member of the MS-13 gang also in the country without documentation. They identified him as Rene Saul Escobar Ochoa, 30.
ICE, in the release, said he is accused of having given orders to fellow gang members “to commit a variety of crimes, including multiple homicides, extortion, imprisonment and drug trafficking.”
Both men were arrested “without incident” in a joint law enforcement operation that included ICE, Homeland Security Investigations and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
It said the men had lived in Omaha.
“They thought they could hide in America’s heartland, but they were sadly mistaken,” said HSI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito, whose office oversees Omaha. “Not on our watch.”
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, in a statement on Thursday, said the Nebraska State Patrol had shared intelligence gathered by the Nebraska Information Analysis Center on the presence of the two men in Omaha.
“We are now able to confirm publicly that yesterday’s MS-13 arrests are the direct result of incredible work by our team at the Nebraska State Patrol,” Pillen said. “This is a great example of a strong state-federal partnership — and how valuable that communication and coordination is to keeping Nebraskans safe.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen.
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