{"id":89791,"date":"2025-12-10T23:58:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T23:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/89791\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T23:58:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T23:58:07","slug":"ms-13-boss-with-ties-to-honduran-assassin-squad-obtained-california-drivers-license-using-real-name-feds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/89791\/","title":{"rendered":"MS-13 boss with ties to Honduran assassin squad obtained California driver\u2019s license using real name: feds"},"content":{"rendered":"

An alleged MS-13 leader accused of working with an assassination squad that executed four people in Honduras, including the son of the country\u2019s former president, was able to obtain a California driver\u2019s license using his real identity, federal officials revealed Tuesday. <\/p>\n

Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, aka \u201cFantasma,\u201d crossed into the US illegally from Mexico in 2022 after allegedly bribing his way out of a Honduran jail \u2014 but his extended taste of freedom was finally dashed on Monday when federal agents nabbed him in Nebraska, according to the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n

Before the 33-year-old Honduran national was arrested he somehow managed to get a driver\u2019s license in the Golden State, providing a thumbprint which was eventually used to confirm the international fugitive\u2019s identity, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint against Cuadra Soto. <\/p>\n

\"MugshotAlleged MS-13 leader Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto was able to recieve a California driver\u2019s license using his real identity, according to federal officials. Hall County Department of Corrections<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear which California DMV office issued the illegal migrant a license. <\/p>\n

Just last month, California revoked 17,000 licenses after the Trump administration raised concerns about illegal immigrants improperly receiving them to drive trucks or buses. <\/p>\n

The crackdown came after Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old illegal immigrant trucker with a California license, allegedly plowed his tractor trailer into eight cars, killing three people in a horrific pile-up in the state. <\/p>\n

A state law passed in 2013 allows Californians to apply for a driver\u2019s license without proof of their immigration status if they can establish their identity and California residency, pass a driving test, a vision test, and show proof of insurance.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear how Soto was able to prove these requirements.<\/p>\n

\"Inmates,MS-13 gang member seen at CECOT prison in El Salvador on Jan. 27, 2025. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Since the law took effect in 2015, over 1 million undocumented immigrants have received licenses, according to reports.<\/p>\n

The Post has reached out to California Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s office for comment. <\/p>\n

Federal authorities caught up with Cuadra Soto in Grand Island, Nebraska where he was living in an apartment. He was charged in federal court with illegal entry of an unlawfully present alien.<\/p>\n

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Based on surveillance video, police reports, and witness interviews, Cuadra Soto was part of a \u201cprofessional assassination squad\u201d that murdered four individuals on the morning of July 14, 2022 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.<\/p>\n

One of the victims was former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa\u2019s son, Said Lobo Bonilla, Fox News reported<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Four days after the quadruple slaying, Cuadra Soto<\/a> allegedly bribed Honduran officials with $125,000 to get out of jail, where he was being held on firearms charges connected to the killings.<\/p>\n

Federal officials called Cuadra Soto a leader of MS-13, which has been designated as a terrorist organization under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Honduran authorities identified Cuadra Soto as a close associate of Yulan Archaga Carias, known as \u201cPorky,\u201d who is believed to be the boss of MS-13 in Honduras, according to Fox News. He is listed on the FBI\u2019s Most Wanted List. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An alleged MS-13 leader accused of working with an assassination squad that executed four people in Honduras, including…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,24650,6168,28448,3586],"class_list":["post-89791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-gangs","tag-illegal-immigrants","tag-ms-13","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}