July 2020 Final | Page 54

scourge of drugs and violence that threaten the safety of our communities.” www.AmericanSecurityToday.com July 2020 - Edition 46 “Today’s announcements are the result of tremendous teamwork and coordination between prosecutors and law enforcement officers across the United States and Central America,” said JTFV Director John Durham. In an indictment unsealed yesterday, Melgar Diaz was charged in the Eastern District of Virginia with terrorism-related offenses, a first in terror charges filed against an MS- 13 member. “MS-13 is a violent transnational criminal organization, whose criminal activities respect no boundaries. “The only way to defeat MS-13 is by targeting the organization as a whole, focusing on the leadership structure, and deploying a whole-of-government approach against a common enemy.” MS-13 Leader Melgar Diaz Diaz’s charges are as follows: • Conspiring to provide material support to terrorists; • Conspiring to kill or maim persons overseas; • Conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries; 54