Human smuggling victim found dead in tractor trailer grew up in Va., was suspected MS-13 member
FAIRFAX, Va. - One of the ten illegal immigrants found dead inside an overheated tractor trailer in Texas had ties to the D.C. region and the MS-13 gang.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson in Fairfax said 19-year-old Frank Fuentes grew up in Northern Virginia. Last year, he was convicted of assault and battery by a mob and was a suspected MS-13 gang member. He was deported to his native Guatemala on March 2.
ICE said agency records indicate Fuentes unlawfully entered the United States in July 2000.
Just four months after being kicked out the United States and sent back to Guatemala, Fuentes was smuggled back to the U.S.
"You have the national security and public safety concerns that come out of this smuggling," said Patrick Lechleitner, special agent in charge for ICE's Homeland Security Investigation, who is not connected to the tractor trailer case in Texas.
A GoFundMe page for Fuentes says the 19-year-old grew up in Fairfax a reportedly graduated from J.E.B. Stuart High School.
However, ICE said Fuentes was a suspected MS-13 gang member.
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/human-smuggling-victim-found-dead-in-tractor-trailer-grew-up-in-va-was-suspected-ms-13-member