MS-13 leader with ties to Honduran assassin squad obtained California driver’s license using real name: feds
On Tuesday, federal authorities confirmed that Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto—an accused leader of MS‑13 and part of an assassination unit that killed four people in Honduras, including former president Porfirio Lobo Sosa’s son—managed to receive a California driver’s licence under his own name.
Soto, who is known as “Fantasma,” illegally crossed the U.S.–Mexico border in 2022 after reportedly paying bribes to secure his release from a Honduran jail. Despite that, he somehow satisfied California’s licence requirements and a thumb‑print later linked him back to the real Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto. The DMV office that issued the licence remains unidentified.
The state has recently tightened licensing rules after the Trump administration flagged that many undocumented immigrants were buying licences to drive commercial trucks or buses. A month ago, California revoked about 17,000 licences, spurred by the crash that killed three people when a trucker, also an undocumented resident, collided with eight cars. In 2013, a California statute was enacted that allows residents without immigration status to apply for a licence simply by proving their identity, residency, passing a driving and vision test, and showing insurance.
Since the law came into effect in 2015, more than a million undocumented migrants have earned licences, according to state data.
Cuadra Soto was finally arrested in Grand Island, Nebraska, where he was living in an apartment. He faces a federal charge of illegal entry for entering the United States without lawful status.
Investigators, using surveillance footage, police reports and witness statements, say he was part of a “professional assassination squad” that carried out the quadruple killing in Tegucigalpa on July 14, 2022. In the days that followed, he allegedly paid $125,000 of bribes to Honduran officials to avoid further jail time over firearms‑related charges connected to the murders.
Federal officials have labelled Soto a high‑ranking MS‑13 operative, an organization that the Trump administration had designated a terrorist group. Honduran authorities have linked him to Yulan Archaga Carias, nicknamed “Porky,” who is thought to run MS‑13 in Honduras. Soto is also on the FBI’s most‑wanted list.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
