The US Department of Justice announced on Friday morning, February 24, that a four-count indictment was filed in Central Islip federal court against 13 of the highest-ranking leaders of the criminal gang organization Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13.
According to the statement issued by the US agency, the defendants are accused of directing the criminal organization’s criminal activities in countries such as the United States, Mexico, and El Salvador over the past two decades.
The crimes for which the MS-13 members have been charged include conspiracy to extort, provide, or conceal material support to terrorists and drug trafficking. It also transpired that four of the accused are accused of conspiracy to smuggle foreigners.
On February 22, Mexican authorities located and expelled to the United States Vladimir Antonio Arévalo Chávez, alias Vampiro de Monserrat Criminales; Walter Yovani Hernández Rivera, alias Baxter de Park View, and Marlon Antonio Menjivar Portillo, alias Rojo de Park View.
Upon their arrival at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, the dangerous MS-13 members were arrested by the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Directorate.
Information from the U.S. Department of Justice detailed that these defendants participated in the coordination of MS-13’s expansion into Mexico under the direction of the so-called Ranfla Nacional, an effort promoted to maintain the continuity of MS-13 operations in response to the police pressure previously exerted by U.S. authorities and the Government of El Salvador.
MS-13 members launched the “Mexico Program,” which included forging alliances with Mexican cartels, engaging in narcotics trafficking, migrant smuggling, and extortion, and generating financial support for the criminal organization’s terrorist activities in El Salvador.
This Friday, the defendants had their initial appearances in the Southern District of Texas, however, they are awaiting transfer to the Eastern District of New York.
“Today’s action makes clear that there is no hiding place, anywhere in the world, for violent gang leaders who terrorize American communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Department of Justice will continue to use the full force of our law enforcement authorities to disrupt and dismantle MS-13 and other transnational criminal organizations and hold their leaders accountable.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the FBI would continue to vigorously investigate and hold transnational organized groups like MS-13 and their leaders accountable for the ongoing violent criminal and terrorist activities they orchestrate.
“Today’s indictment demonstrates the FBI’s reach and commitment to seek justice against those individuals who endanger the lives and liberty of Americans. We will never stop coordinating with our international partners to protect our respective citizens from MS-13 and other gangs wherever they may be,” the U.S. official argued.
Additionally, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace stated that the tireless efforts of law enforcement in the United States and Central America are systematically dismantling MS-13 “from top to bottom” and will not stop until the transnational gang and its leaders are held accountable for the extreme violence they have unleashed in various territories.
According to the statement issued by the US Justice Department, six other co-defendants of MS-13 leaders are in custody in El Salvador. However, the United States is exploring options for their extradition with the government headed by Nayib Bukele.
As stated in court documents, the 13 defendants are part of MS-13’s command and control structure, which consists of the Ranfla Nacional, the Ranfla en Las Calles, and the Ranfla en Los Penales, and play important leadership roles in the organization’s operations in El Salvador, Mexico, the United States, and around the world.