For the first time, the Justice Department is bringing terrorism-related charges against an MS-13 gang leader, and in a separate case the government said it would seek the death penalty against another MS-13 member. In all, the department revealed new charges against 22 members of the famous criminal gang that Attorney General Bill Barr has called “a cult of death.”
Nearly a year after the creation of the Vulcan Joint Task Force, an initiative specifically aimed at shooting down MS-13, Barr announced Wednesday that law enforcement has helped dismantle the leadership of the transnational gang in the United States. and they have “significantly degraded” the capabilities of the MS-13.
“The MS-13 is somewhat unique in this regard: They have the street savagery that you would see in a gang that is not driven by commercial interests the way the mafia, for example, was traditionally,” Barr explained in the Oval Office. on Wednesday. “It’s about the honor of being the wildest, bloodthirsty person you can be and building a reputation as a killer.”
MS-13, or “Mara Salvatrucha”, is one of the world’s largest gangs, a threat in several countries that President Trump often invokes to justify his hard-line immigration policies. Its violent control in Central America is one of the forces that pushes thousands of migrants to flee to the United States.
President Trump called MS-13 “probably the world’s worst and worst gang” and “an evil group of people. They are sick and deranged.”
Among the accused is Armando Eliu Melgar Díaz, also known as “Blue,” who is the first member of MS-13 to be charged with terrorism charges. Prosecutors allege that Melgar Díaz was the leader of the MS-13’s east coast operations and, as such, oversaw the activities of approximately 20 MS-13 factions in the United States, including Virginia, Maryland, and the District. from Columbia.
In this role, he collected drug charges and money from gang factions across the country, which prosecutors allege were later used to finance violence in El Salvador. Melgar Díaz would also act as a facilitator of the “kill” and “extortion” requests from the cliques and seek responses from the top leadership of the El Salvador-based MS-13, among other crimes.
Melgar Díaz is currently in custody in El Salvador, where he has been charged with drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit murder.
Although MS-13 is not a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., it is in El Salvador, and the statutes under which prosecutors have charged Melgar Díaz do not require criminal activity with a formally designated group in the USA
In the Eastern District of New York, the government announced that it would seek the death penalty against another MS-13 member who was accused of the brutal murders of seven people in 2016 and 2017. Alexi Sáenz, also known as “Blasty” The leader from the local Brentwood clique of MS-13, was originally charged in 2017 and is currently in prison in Brooklyn. Among those charged with murder are Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas, two best friends from high school who died of blunt force trauma.
Prosecutors say Saenz remains a threat to others, including in prison, pointing out in a filing seeking the death penalty “his continued criminal conduct while incarcerated.” This includes “maintaining its leadership role within MS-13, authorizing violent attacks against other inmates, threatening correctional officers, communicating with MS-13 leaders in the United States and El Salvador using multiple cell phones from smuggling, actively trying to identify the aid workers for retaliation, threatening other MS-13 members to induce them not to plead guilty, and hiding … ‘legs’ inside their cell. “
Eight members of the “East Coast Hollywood Program” connected to the Saenz subgroup on Long Island were also charged with six murders, two attempted murders, one kidnapping conspiracy, and narcotics trafficking conspiracies. The 24-charge indictment also includes assault in aid of organized crime and firearms. Prosecutors are asking the court to detain all defendants awaiting trial.
Across the country, on the west coast, 11 of the 13 leaders and members of the “Hollywood Locos” and “Los Angeles Program” clique were arrested yesterday, and the remaining two are considered fugitives. All were charged in a 21-count indictment charging them with crimes including violating federal “Kingpin” statute and multiple drug and firearm crimes.
The attorney general noted that this is not the end of the task force’s efforts, saying Wednesday that “there is more to come as we target MS-13 leadership.”
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