Forty one 'MS-13 gangsters' are arrested and accused of at least 32 acts of violence in New York

A grand jury indicted more than 40 alleged members of the notorious MS-13 gang on multiple acts of violence, including eight counts of attempted murder.
Prosecutors said the 41 defendants are behind at least 32 separate acts of violence in Nassau County.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) confirmed that of the 41 individuals, 39 are members of MS-13, while the other two are affiliated with other gangs.
District Attorney Madeline Singas said the charges include eight counts of attempted murder over the last four years, according to PIX 11.
'MS-13 has terrorized communities, killed innocent people, and stolen the childhoods of the vulnerable young people they recruit to join their ranks,' Singas said.
According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, the individuals were arrested during an ongoing enforcement effort called Operation Matador.
Of the gang members arrested during this ongoing enforcement action, 20 had additional criminal histories, including prior convictions for assault and weapons charges.
One has pending felony grand larceny charges and a final order of removal.
The arrestees included nationals from four countries : El Salvador (27), Honduras (11), Mexico (5), and Guatemala (2).
Suffolk County alone accounted for 33 arrests, the largest number of arrests during this operation to date, while Nassau County accounted for 8.
Many of those arrested entered the country as un-accompanied children, officials said.
From there, gang leaders aggressively recruited them while they were still in school.
Angel Melendez, special agent in charge of HSI New York, said: 'Transnational gangs like MS-13 bring nothing but violence and conflict to our communities and their presence will not be tolerated.
'Their vicious criminal activities present an ongoing challenge for law enforcement everywhere,' Melendez added.
With MS-13 blamed for a trail of 11 corpses of mostly young people found since the start of the school year in Brentwood and Central Islip, the nation's focus has turned on how the Central American street gang built such a presence here.
The bloodshed in the two blue-collar towns has gotten the attention of President Donald Trump, who says the killings are the result of lax immigration policies that let too many criminal 'scum' slip through.
MS-13, or the Mara Salvatrucha, is believed by federal prosecutors to have thousands of members across the US, primarily immigrants from Central America. It has a stronghold in Los Angeles, where it emerged in the 1980s as a neighborhood street gang.
But its true rise began after members were deported back to El Salvador in the 1990s. There, the gang thrived and spread to Honduras.
MS-13 and rival groups there now control entire towns, rape girls and young women, massacre students, bus drivers and merchants who refuse to pay extortion, and kill competitors or youths who simply refuse to join.
Some of the men arrested told PIX11 that they were shocked by their arrest.
'I don't know why I am here,' one defendant said. 'So it's news to me.'
In order for candidates to be initiated into the gang, they are beaten for exactly 13 seconds.
A former MS-13 gangster told DailyMail.com that the gang 'finds your weakness' and exploits it.
Officials said the 39 members, who were indicted this week, were behind at least 13 violent incidents in Hempstead, nine in Uniondale, four in Westbury and three in Inwood.
According to PIX 11, six alleged MS-13 members attacked four soccer players with knives and machetes at Hempstead Lake Park.
Two of those arrested in Nassau County had already been deported, according to officials. Thirty-five of the 41 defendants face a maximum of 25 to life in prison if convicted.