A dangerous criminal with suspected ties to a transnational gang was arrested for trying to carjack a motorist at gunpoint in Florida this week, according to reports.
The harrowing incident unfolded on Friday morning in Coral Gables, a ritzy city in Miami-Dade County.
A local resident was stopped on a busy road near the University of Miami when a masked man tried to force him out of his car, NBC 6 reports
The victim was able to escape in his vehicle and call police who quickly apprehended the suspect and recovered a gun, knife, a mask.
He was identified as Wilson Verela, a Honduran national who reportedly told investigators with the Coral Gables Police Department (CGPD) he is a member of MS-13.
“Verela admitted to being a member of the MS-13 gang,” CGPD spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Christensen told local media.
Verela was recently released from prison on Feb. 10 after serving time for aggravated battery with a weapon.
CGPD is reportedly working with Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations to ascertain Verela’s immigration status.
In February, the State Department designated Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) as Foreign Terrorist Organization.