Operation Devil Horns: The Takedown of MS-13 in San Francisco

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Special Agent Michael Santini offers an inside account of the takedown of MS-13 in San Franciscoone of the largest federal takedowns of a criminal gang in U.S. history.

In a bid to take down MS-13s criminal network in the Mission District of San Francisco, Michael Santini, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, recruits a pair of hardened gang members and convinces them to risk their lives as criminal informants. Set in a city with one of the strictest sanctuary policies protecting illegal immigrants in America, Operation Devil Horns illustrates how politically correct ideology impacts life-or-death crime fighting on the streets.

Through the informants eyes, Operation Devil Horns offers a rare glimpse into the pervasive criminal subculture of MS-13, a gang of Spanish-speaking immigrants that still terrorizes pockets of American society today including their own compatriots. The case begins with a focus on the gang in San Francisco, eventually widening to include a network that reaches across borders. Santini tracks down the gangs leadership from the Bay Area to the prison cells of corrupt Central American regimes. Eventually, it takes the cold-blooded murder of three family members in San Francisco to shake the American public out of complacency and focus sober attention on a growing and violent threat.

This is the story of a dedicated team of special agents, federal prosecutors, and local police who overcome political and legal challenges to take down more than two dozen violent criminal targets.

Reviews

[This is a] nonfiction account reveals how a dedicated law enforcement team dismantled one of San Franciscos most notorious gangs over the course of four years.

If gangs commit so much of their mayhem in the open, with members flaunting their allegiance and violent achievements, what makes it so difficult to catch and prosecute them In their book [the authors] demonstrate all of the challenges involved. . . . Santini and Bolger provide readers of all backgrounds with valuable insights into the psychology of both individual gang members and MS-13 as a whole, portraying the deep-rooted feelings of loyalty and pride that young men especially derived from their shared identity. But the crimes they committed in the service of this identity were gruesome, as the authors adeptly illustrate, and with the investigations stakes building ever higher both publicly and privately, Santini and his team became increasingly determined to finally punish those responsible.

A suspenseful, informative take on an ambitious criminal investigation.

* Kirkus Reviews *
What reads like a work of fiction, so vivid and fantastic is the account of this crusade against MS-13 in San Franciscos Mission District, is, in fact, the story of one investigators Herculean effort to marshal federal, state and local law enforcement resources to take on and defeat a criminal syndicate as sophisticated as La Cosa Nostra was in its prime, as vicious as any terrorist group and as menacing and dangerous as any subversive organization this nation has ever seen, a victory that was all the more extraordinary given that it played out against the backdrop of a political establishment more concerned with promoting sanctuary for illegal alien criminals than protecting the general public from harm. Operation Devil Horns is a must read for anyone who thinks they know how MS-13 operates, the threat it poses, and what can and must be done to destroy it. -- Joseph P. Russoniello, Former United States Attorney, Northern District of California
Operation Devil Horns is a real-life thriller, taking you inside the savage world of MS-13 in San Franciscobut they are no match for a smart and audacious ICE agent, who also has to fight local sanctuary politics to get the job done. This book couldnt be more timely, as MS-13 has regained a foothold in many American communities, and ICE is again contending with interference from foolish and misguided pro-sanctuary politicians. Read it for the great story, send it to your member of congress, and then go thank your local ICE office for what they do every day to keep us all safe. -- Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center for Immigration Studies
Operation Devil Horns is a true crime story about one of the most brutal and ruthless transnational gangs in America and the dogged special agents, federal prosecutors and local police officers who took down more than two dozen MS-13 gang members in the City by the Bay. . . . Operation Devil Horns is an interesting and illuminating book about MS-13 and the bold law enforcement operation that took them down in San Francisco. * The Washington Times *
Operation Devil Horns is a first rate true crime genre work that provides an insiders view of an MS-13 clique by means of an undercover federal operation utilizing insider criminal informants. The work is a highly pleasurable read due to the professional writing skills of Ray Bolger and is targeted for professional and general rather than academic audiences. * Small Wars Journal *

Author Bio

Michael Santini is the penname of a career special agent with Homeland Security Investigations. He previously served as a border patrol agent in San Diego, California. For his work as lead case agent on Operation Devil Horns, Michael received a distinguished service medal from the U.S. Attorney General. He has a masters degree in criminal justice from John Jay College in New York.

Ray Bolger is a journalist with over twenty years of experience covering business, technology, finance, government, and crime. His published articles have appeared in many leading outlets including The Baltimore Sun, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Hill, and Forbes magazine.