ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - A man described as a “key leader” of the MS-13 gang was arrested in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other leaders announced Thursday.

The suspect, whose name had not been released as of Thursday morning, was described by the White House as “one of the top three MS-13 leaders in the United States.”

CBS affiliate WUSA reported the suspect, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was taken into custody around 4:30 a.m. in Dale City.

Youngkin was joined by several law enforcement officials to announce the arrest at a news conference in Manassas.

“It’s this effort that has been enabled by the Trump Administration. President Trump said, ‘Get the bad guys.’ I’ve been working on this — literally — for the first three years of our administration with little to no help from the senior leadership in the federal government in the Biden Administration,” Youngkin said. “On Day One [of President Trump’s second term], we went to work signing a 287(g) memorandum.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel were present for the raid.

“From the second Donald Trump took office, he said he is going to make America safe,” Bondi said. “He shut down our borders — and now it’s our job to get these people out of our country as fast as we can ... We will not have another Laken Riley.”

Youngkin praised the collaboration between federal and local agencies that formed the task force that made the arrest.

“This task force was designed in the White House ... architected in a very quick period of time and stood up immediately ... I cannot emphasize enough the collaboration and support and leadership out of the new administration that is so different than what we saw [under the Biden Administration].”

While the extent of MS-13 activity in southwest Virginia is unclear, a gang member in Bedford County was sentenced in 2023 to life in prison for the murder of Raymond Wood.