DPS Apprehends MS-13 Gang Member During Traffic Stop

DEL RIO – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announces the arrest of an MS-13 gang member during a traffic stop in Val Verde Co. as part of Operation Lone Star.

On Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, just after 9:30 a.m., a DPS Trooper stopped a maroon Ford Taurus on U.S. 277 driven by Kieuncey Worth, 24, of Rockwall, Texas.

A DPS search revealed three illegal immigrants in the back seat — two Mexican nationals and a man identified as Walter Alexander Zavala Amaya – who DPS Troopers had encountered the day prior during a traffic stop, but who had fled on foot. Zavala Amaya had dropped an ID card during that incident issued by the country of El Salvador. With assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol and the Threat Screening Center (TSC), it was confirmed that Zavala Amaya is a member of the MS-13 terrorist organization. 

Worth, along with his passenger, Coy Ford, 23, of Wichita Falls, Texas, were arrested and charged with smuggling of persons. They were transported to the Val Verde Co. Jail. The three illegal immigrants were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Further investigation revealed that after fleeing on Aug. 19, Zavala Amaya returned to Mexico and re-entered Texas, again seeking to be smuggled.

Zavala Amaya's history indicates he was first arrested and deported to El Salvador by federal authorities with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in May 2016. He later re-entered the United States and was arrested on July 11, 2025, by the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore Field Office. Zavala Amaya was removed from the United States on July 13, 2025, before his recent illegal re-entry into Texas.

See video of Zavala Amaya's apprehension here: https://youtu.be/pBshq8MmP1k.