A former MS-13 gang member spoke out about the gang, the way they operate, and the location of known affiliates. According to the 18-year old, there are at least ten MS-13 gang members hiding in the caravan that he knows.

“’I don’t agree with anything Donald Trump stands for but on this occasion the President is right,” he warned. “People who deny there are criminals in the caravan are being naive. MS-13 are everywhere – they contaminate everything.”

The former gang member told Daily Mail that “he knows of at least ten of his former MS-13 cohorts who are hiding out in the mass of disheveled migrants marching north through Mexico.”

He withheld his name from Daily Mail for fear of reprisals. The teen asked to be referred to as “Pepito” during the interview. He knew his safety was in jeopardy just speaking out about the issue.

“He warned that MS-13 bosses treat deserters as enemies,” Daily Mail reports. Pepito suggested, “It’s a big deal if you try to leave. They can come after you and they can take your life for this.”

Pepito says he was lured into the gang as an orphan, was treated kindly, and then used as a soldier for criminal activities. “They were really nice to me, they gave me money. They started to ask me to do them favors but you never really had a choice,” he explained.

“They beat people up and you had to join in. They made me drive them around with big machine guns,” Pepito further explained. “If you passed a member of Mara 18 in the street you were expected to kill them.”

President Trump has been criticized for depicting this gang as being ruthless, and at times referring to them as “animals”. However, the account of Pepito only seems to reinforce the President’s remarks.

Now a caravan of thousands is heading towards the U.S. border with an unknown quantity of MS-13 operatives. According to Pepito, there are at least 10, but there could quite likely be more. These MS-13 members are not simply going to reveal their identity, as their goal is to slip in undetected. Law enforcement may very well catch some, but it is unlikely that they would catch all. If this caravan is allowed into the nation, this would release “animals” into society and bring crime and violence to American communities.