The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of a leader of Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13, a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designated by the Trump Administration last year. The reward for Yulan Adonay Archaga Carías, a.k.a. “Porky” or “Alexander Mendoza,” is being offered by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program or TOCRP.
According to court documents, Archaga Carías is one of the highest-ranking members of MS-13 in Honduras and is responsible for directing the gang’s criminal activities, including drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, kidnappings, and other violent crimes. He is also responsible for the gang’s importation of large amounts of cocaine into the United States. He remains at large.
Archaga Carías is one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, as well as one of the DEA’s and Homeland Security Investigations’ most wanted fugitives. This reward represents an increase from $5 million to $10 million. This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) established by Executive Order 14159. The HSTF is a permanent, whole-of-government task force dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.
In February 2020, Archaga Carías, with the help of approximately 20 armed men, escaped from a courthouse in El Progreso, Honduras. Archaga Carías had been in custody and was at the courthouse for a hearing on homicide charges against two Honduran prosecutors. Two police officers, two military officers, and one presumed MS-13 combatant were killed during the break-out, and surveillance video footage depicts Archaga Carías carrying an AK-47 as he exited the building.
On September 21, 2021, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned and filed a superseding indictment against Archaga Carías charging him with racketeering, narcotics trafficking, and weapons trafficking.
The reward offer of up to $10 million is authorized by the Department of State Under Secretary for Arms Control and Security under the TOCRP, which supports law enforcement efforts to disrupt transnational crime globally.
If you have information, please contact the FBI by phone (WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram) at +1 832-267-1688. If you are located outside of the United States, you may also contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. All identities are kept strictly confidential.