Aberdeen Police have arrested a known MS-13 gang member who, nearly 10 years ago, was removed from the U.S. by immigration officials for unlawfully entering the country. According to a news release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Removal Operations, police apprehended Kevin Mauricio Guzman-Martinez, 28, a citizen of El Salvador and a member of the “notorious transnational criminal” gang MS-13, in Aberdeen on Thursday.Guzman-Martinez was previously arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol in April 2015 after he unlawfully entered the United States near Hidalgo, Texas, according to the release. He was removed to El Salvador seven days after that arrest.

According to ICE officials, Guzman-Martinez unlawfully reentered the U.S. on an unknown date and at an unknown location.

Guzman-Martinez had been arrested by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office in July 2023 and charged with driving with a suspended registration. He was convicted in October in Harford County District Court and had to pay a fine.

When Guzman-Martinez was arrested last week, he was served with a notice to reinstate a prior removal order by immigration officials, according to the release. He remains in the custody of ICE. His arrest follows the arrest of another MS-13 gang member in Aberdeen, Walter Martinez, 19, an undocumented migrant from El Salvador, who pleaded guilty last month to murder in the death of 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton in July 2022. During his plea hearing, Martinez’s defense attorneys stated that he had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and that he is a member of MS-13. Victor Martinez-Hernandez, who is charged in the 2023 killing of Rachel Morin, of Bel Air, is also an undocumented migrant from El Salvador who police believe has ties to MS-13. Martinez-Hernandez was denied bail in June and is awaiting trial.

Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 and @mthubb.