El Salvador’s Rene Escobar arrested in Omaha, Nebraska by HSI agents

Rene Saul Escobar Ochoa, 30, of El Salvador has been arrested. While he was wanted in the country, he illegally resided in the United States.

Meet Rene Saul Escobar Ochoa. He’s an MS-13 terrorist and Salvadoran FUGITIVE wanted for:
👉Ordering gang members to commit multiple murders
👉Extortion
👉Imprisonment
👉Drug trafficking

We found him alongside an MS-13 kingpin wanted for FIVE MURDERS and other serious crimes.… pic.twitter.com/UTOVHozh9a

— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) July 9, 2025

Rene Escobar

Escobar is a member of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, USA. He allegedly gave orders to fellow gang members to commit multiple homicides, extortion, imprisonment, drug trafficking and other crimes.

In 2023, U.S. Border Patrol first encountered Escobar. He was allowed to remain in the U.S.

On July 9, 2025, Escobar and an MS-13 associate he was residing with were arrested without incident by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents. Authorities did not release the name of the MS-13 associate, who was listed among the top 100 most wanted fugitives of El Salvador.

The unnamed MS-13 gang member was tracked down in Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA. He was wanted in El Salvador for attempted aggravated homicide, deprivation of liberty, terrorist organization affiliation and the aggravated homicide of five victims and was previously convicted in the U.S. for illegally crossing the border.

Escobar was arrested in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He faces an International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) red notice from El Salvador for drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit murder.

Todd Lyons

HSI is one of the two components of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is based in Washington, D.C. The other one is Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). 

On March 9, 2025, Todd M. Lyons assumed office as the acting director of the ICE. From August 2014 to March 2015, he served as the chief of staff for the field office of ERO in Dallas, Texas, USA and from April 2015 to September 2017, he was the assistant director of the same office.

“When ICE agents move in to make an arrest, it is extremely important that the public not interfere,” Lyons stated after the arrests of Escobar and his fellow MS-13 gang member. “The misinformation and sometimes blatant lies being spread around the country could result in someone stepping into a federal operation and suddenly finding themselves face-to-face with a killer who has nothing to lose.”