A suspected MS-13 gang member who is in the United States illegally was arrested during a traffic stop in South Texas, officials said.
Walter Alexander Zavala Amaya, a citizen of El Salvador, was apprehended Wednesday in Val Verde County, near Del Rio. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officials identified him as a member of MS-13, which Texas has officially classified as a terrorist organization.
Authorities said Zavala Amaya had been initially encountered during a traffic stop on Tuesday but fled the scene. During a subsequent chase, he dropped an ID card that confirmed his Salvadoran residency. Federal and state authorities, including the FBI Threat Screening Center and Border Patrol, confirmed his gang affiliation.
Zavala Amaya was again stopped just after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday on U.S. 277, when he was in the back seat of a vehicle driven by Kieuncey Worth, 24, of Rockwall, Texas. Another passenger, Coy Ford, 23, of Wichita Falls, Texas, and two Mexican nationals were also in the car. Worth and Ford were charged with smuggling of persons and booked into Val Verde County Jail, while the migrants were handed over to U.S. Border Patrol.
Officials noted Zavala Amaya had a prior ICE removal history, having first been deported to El Salvador in May 2016. He subsequently re-entered the U.S. and was again arrested by ICE in Baltimore on July 11, 2025, before being removed on July 13, 2025.
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