Spanish police arrest suspects in bid to block MS-13 gang

The MS-13 street gang was born in Los Angeles but has roots in El Salvador.

The suspects were part of a bid by MS-13 to "establish itself and expand violently in Spain following instructions received from the American continent", Spain's National Police said in statement.

Spanish police acted in March after being tipped off by the FBI that several MS-13 members were in the country. They also had cooperation from the police in El Salvador.

They made the arrests in Madrid, Spain's second city Barcelona, as well as Alicante and Tarragona on Spain's Mediterranean coast, also seizing drugs and fake weapons in the operation.

MS-13 is short for Mara Salvatrucha. The 13 represents the position of M in the alphabet.

The gang began in Los Angeles during the 1980s, formed by immigrants who had fled El Salvador's long and brutal civil war. Other members came from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.

FBI director Kash Patel has said one of the bureau's top priorities is to topple MS-13, which has a reputation for extreme violence that includes killing people with machetes.

The gang has recently been in the spotlight following the wrongful deportation of US resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia to his home country El Salvador over his supposed membership in MS-13.

Abrego García, who lived in Maryland with his wife, maintains his innocence and says he is not part of the gang. He remains imprisoned in El Salvador.