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'These Are Animals': Trump Vows Crackdown on Violent MS-13, Other Gangs

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President Donald Trump is calling the MS-13 gang "animals" as he fights to crack down on gang violence.

"MS-13 is particularly violent. They don't like shooting people because it's too quick. It's too fast," Trump said of the gang, which is known for its violent tactics, including torturing victims and hacking them with machetes.

"Together we are going to restore safety to our streets and peace to our community and destroy the vile criminal cartel MS-13 and many other gangs," the president vowed.

A rash of gang killings in New York's Long Island suburbs prompted Trump's visit to the Big Apple. He traveled to Brentwood, a town hit hard by violence and where four men were killed in April.

The MS-13 street gang was the focus of talks with law enforcement officers.

"You are saving American lives every day and we have your backs 100 percent," said Trump. "We love our police. We love our sheriffs. We love our ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers."

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions also pledged to crack down on MS-13 activity while in El Salvador. Deputy Attorney General Robert Hur said the gangs are performing "shocking acts of violence."

Trump plans to urge Congress to secure more funds to crackdown on illegal immigration and violent crime.

"We will find you, we will arrest you, we will jail you and we will deport you," said Trump.

Trump has compared MS-13's "meanness" to that of al-Qaida.

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About The Author

Ben
Kennedy

Ben Kennedy is an Emmy Award-winning White House correspondent for CBN News in Washington, D.C. He has more than a decade of reporting experience covering breaking news nationwide. He's traveled cross country covering the President and scored exclusive interviews with lawmakers and White House officials. Kennedy spent seven years reporting for WPLG, the ABC affiliate in Miami, Florida. While there he reported live from Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Matthew hit the island. He was the first journalist to interview Diana Nyad moments after her historic swim from Cuba to Key West. He reported