FBI Director Kash Patel announced Friday a nationwide crackdown on the Latin Kings, a violent street gang.
“Operation Broken Crown,” a three-month initiative involving more than a dozen FBI field offices, resulted in nearly 50 arrests, the seizure of nearly $200,000 in illicit funds, and more than 10 kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl and other narcotics, the director said. (RELATED: FBI Reportedly Conducts Election Office Search Tied To 2020 Election)
“We’re breaking the violent gang network in America,” Patel wrote on X. “This comes after 2025 when the FBI had a 210% increase in gang takedowns of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua. Weeks in to 2026 and we’re not stopping.”
For the last 3 months the FBI has quietly executed Operation Broken Crown… a sweeping violent gang takedown involving 13 field offices targeting the Latin Kings Gang – members which were publicly threatening law enforcement officers.
Here’s the public results so far:
-50… pic.twitter.com/NjSxZhT5kP— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) January 30, 2026
Patel’s reference to gang members “publicly threatening law enforcement officers” relates to an October incident in which a Latin Kings member allegedly placed a “hit” on Border Patrol Commander at Large Greg Bovino, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Separately, earlier in January, federal authorities arrested another alleged Latin Kings member in Minneapolis who was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and theft of government property after allegedly breaking into an FBI vehicle and stealing a rifle, the Justice Department said.
Ecuadorean armed forces and police members present to the press alleged members of the Latin Kings gang, following a security joint operation in Duran, Ecuador on October 24, 2024. (Photo by MARCOS PIN / AFP) (Photo by MARCOS PIN/AFP via Getty Images)
The narcotics seized in Operation Broken Crown — including fentanyl, the synthetic opioid responsible for the majority of U.S. overdose deaths — reflect the administration’s two-pronged approach to the drug crisis: enforcement against traffickers and expanded treatment for addicts. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order creating the White House Great American Recovery Initiative, which will coordinate federal addiction recovery efforts and direct agency grants toward treatment programs.