FBI Director Kash Patel hopes to expand the bureau’s new task force to all 50 states after rounding up dozens of migrant gang members since its debut, and prosecutors on Long Island — which has seen its communities terrorized by MS-13 — are urging Gov. Hochul to roll out the red carpet.
“Gov. Hochul should be open to a conversation about having a gang task force here. I support it. We should do everything in our power to take down these gangs,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly told The Post.
“In Nassau, we always work closely with our federal partners, state partners. I work with whoever will help us improve public safety.”
A new FBI-led task force has rounded up more than 340 criminals — including dozens of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gang members — in less than a month. And bureau director Kash Patel wants to see it expanded nationwide. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Long Island’s top cops are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to take FBI Director Kash Patel up on his offer to bring the bureau’s new task force to New York. Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy HochulThe first-in-the-nation interagency task force, led by the FBI, was established to target “violent criminals and illegals harming our citizenry and our way of life,” Patel told The Post.
The law enforcement agencies involved include different FBI field offices, the Border Patrol, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Corrections, the Drug Enforcement Administration and more.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Wednesday that a major task force operation in Virginia had netted 340 criminals since its March 3 launch, including gang members from notorious and violent gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.
On Thursday, the task force nabbed Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, a 24-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador, the East Coast’s top leader of MS-13, whom Bondi branded “the worst of the worst.”
Long Island communities like Brentwood in Suffolk County have seen some of the worst of MS-13’s savagery in recent years, including the merciless slaying of innocent teenagers.
In January, Jairo Saenz, 28, a high-ranking MS-13 leader nicknamed “Funny,” grinned in federal court as he was hit with a 60-year sentence for a series of seven horrific murders dating back to 2016.
On his orders, MS-13 members brutally murdered Kayla Cuevas, 16, and her 15-year-old friend, Nisa Mickens, with baseball bats and machetes, prosecutors said. The teens were killed because the gang believed they had disrespected them on social media.
Some criminal migrants are being brought to the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) in El Salvador. Presidency of El Salvador/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockThese and other migrant gang-related killings on Long Island led some of its top law enforcement authorities to say they’d eagerly welcome the expansion of the Virginia task force to include New York.
“Because of the violent history of MS-13 on Long Island, law enforcement in Nassau and Suffolk counties have been working with our state and federal partners all along,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told The Post.
“If our federal partners want to expand, it’s a great idea and we hope that it would bring funding, which would allow us to do more to combat these dangerous gangs.”
An FBI spokesperson told The Post that the Virginia task force will now be used as a model nationwide.
“This task force proves what’s possible when strong leadership meets real collaboration. In just four weeks, we took down 342 criminals in Virginia by uniting state, local, and federal resources — backed by DOJ and driven by AG Pam Bondi’s vision,” the spokesperson said.
“With Governor Youngkin setting the standard, we’re now taking this model nationwide to restore law and order in communities across America.”
The Trump administration has made battling MS-13 one of its top priorities.
“MS-13 is one of the most dangerous gangs in our country, and we are going to fight until they are completely dismantled,” Bondi said.
In a statement released Thursday night, a spokesperson for Hochul said the governor directed her administration “to explore additional ways” to work with the federal authorities when asked about the FBI interagency gang task force.
“Governor Hochul has been clear from the beginning: she believes violent criminals and gang members should be deported, but does not support any attacks on children and families,” the Hochul rep said.
“Recognizing the threat posed by MS-13 and other violent gangs, the governor has invested millions in new law enforcement technology at our northern border and committed additional State Police, counterterrorism investigators, and new intelligence capabilities as part of this year’s budget. New York State currently partners with federal authorities on multiple task forces and she has directed her Administration to explore additional ways to partner with these agencies while upholding the laws of New York.”
Additional reporting by Carl Campanile, Josh Christenson and Brandon Cruz
