Full-Scale Response: 

A Report on the Department of Justice’s 

Efforts to Combat MS-13 from 2016-2020 

U.S. Department of Justice 
 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS MARSHALED ITS FULL 

RESOURCES TO DISMANTLE MS-13.......................................... 2 

II. THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S PROSECUTIONS 

HAVE TAKEN HUNDREDS OF MS-13 MEMBERS OFF 

THE STREETS........................................................................ 4 

III. MS-13 WAS ABLE TO OPERATE IN THE 

UNITED STATES FOR DECADES BY EXPLOITING 

WEAKNESSES IN U.S. IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT POLICIES; 

THE VAST MAJORITY OF MS-13 DEFENDANTS PROSECUTED 

ARE FOREIGN NATIONALS.................................................... 10 

IV. THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S PARTNERSHIP 

WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS 

RESULTED IN HUNDREDS OF MS-13 ARRESTS......................... 11 

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I. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS MARSHALED ITS FULL 

RESOURCES TO DISMANTLE MS-13 

La Mara Salvatrucha (“MS-13”) is a violent street gang that operates as a transnational 

criminal organization (“TCO”) and has been designated as such by federal agencies, including the 

U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of the Treasury.1 MS-13 operates in the United 

States, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and other countries. Each year, MS-13 is 

responsible for violent crimes in the United States, including murders, extortion, arms and drug 

trafficking, assaults, rapes, human trafficking, robberies, and kidnappings.2 For decades, MS-13 

has exploited weaknesses in U.S. immigration enforcement policies to move its members in and 

out of the United States and to recruit new members who have arrived in the United States 

illegally.3 Moreover, MS-13 has infiltrated both cities and suburbs of the United States and 

established cliques in California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, 

Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) Presencea 

MS-13 Gang Presence 

a Presence is defined as the observation by law enforcement of one or more gang member(s) in a location, with or without 

associated criminal activity. This does not include observation of gang members temporarily transiting an area. 

1 Department of Justice (Press Release), Attorney General Sessions Announces New Measures to Fight 

Transnational Organized Crime, Oct. 15, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-sessionsannounces-new-measures-fight-transnational-organized-crime; U.S. Department of the Treasury, Treasury Sanctions 

Latin American Criminal Organization (Press Release), Oct. 11, 2012, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/pressreleases/pages/tg1733.aspx. 2 See, e.g., MS13 in the Americas: How the World’s Most Notorious Gang Defies Logic, Resists Destruction, a report 

published by Insight Crime and Center for Latin American & Latino Studies (CLALS), Feb. 2018, 

https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1043576/download. 3 See, e.g., id.; The White House, Remarks by President Trump at a Roundtable Discussion on Immigration, 

Bethpage, NY, May 23, 2018, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trumproundtable-discussion-immigration-bethpage-ny/. 

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Massachusetts, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas. Currently, MS-13 has an estimated 

10,000 members across the United States and tens of thousands more worldwide. 4 

On February 9, 2017, the President issued an executive order directing the whole-ofgovernment to develop and execute a comprehensive and decisive approach to dismantle TCOs 

such as MS-13 and restore safety for 

the American people.5 In doing so, 

the President recognized that these 

organizations put the safety of the 

American people at risk through 

widespread illegal conduct, 

including acts of violence and abuse 

that exhibit a wanton disregard for 

human life. 6 The President directed 

the U.S. Departments of Justice and 

Homeland Security to work together 

with the Department of State and the 

Office of the Director of National 

Intelligence to support and improve 

the coordination of federal agencies’ 

efforts to identify, interdict, 

investigate, prosecute, and dismantle TCOs and subsidiary organizations within and beyond the 

United States. Pursuant to the President’s executive order, on October 15, 2018, Attorney General 

Sessions created the Transnational Organized Crime (“TOC”) Task Force, specifically targeting 

MS-13 and other TCOs7 and ordered the TOC Task Force to focus on the disruption and 

dismantlement of the TCOs.8 Attorney General Sessions designated dismantling TCOs such as 

MS-13 a top priority of the Department of Justice. 

4 See, e.g., Department of Justice Factsheet on MS-13, Apr. 18, 2017, 

https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/file/958481/download; Congressional Research Service, MS-13 in the United 

States and Federal Law 

Enforcement Efforts, Aug. 20, 2018, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R45292.pdf; MS13 in the Americas: How the 

World’s Most Notorious Gang Defies Logic, Resists Destruction, a report published by Insight Crime and Center for 

Latin American & Latino Studies (CLALS), Feb. 2018, at 3, 

https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1043576/download. 5 Presidential Executive Order on Enforcing Federal Law with Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and 

Preventing International Trafficking, Feb. 9, 2017, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidentialexecutive-order-enforcing-federal-law-respect-transnational-criminal-organizations-preventing-internationaltrafficking/. 6 Id. 7 Specifically, the TOC Task Force targeted: MS-13, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), Sinaloa Cartel, 

Clan del Golfo, and Lebanese Hezbollah. 

8 Department of Justice (Press Release), Attorney General Sessions Announces New Measures to Fight 

Transnational Organized Crime, Oct. 15, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-sessionsannounces-new-measures-fight-transnational-organizedcrime#:~:text=Attorney%20General%20Jeff%20Sessions%20today,to%20dismantle%20transnational%20criminal 

%20organizations.&text=Attorney%20General%20Sessions%20has%20appointed,Enforcement%20Task%20Force 

%20(OCDETF). 

President Donald J. Trump, joined by United States Attorney General William Barr, participates in 

a briefing from law enforcement officials on Keeping American Communities Safe and the 

takedown of key MS-13 criminal leaders Wednesday, July 15, 2020, in the Oval Office of the 

White House. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour) 

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On August 16, 2019, as part of the Department of Justice’s national strategy to dismantle 

MS-13, Attorney General Barr created Joint Task Force Vulcan (“JTFV”)9 to coordinate and lead 

the efforts of the Department of Justice and U.S. law enforcement agencies against MS-13 in order 

to eradicate10 the group. While there is still work to be done, JTFV has successfully implemented 

the whole-of-government approach to law enforcement relating to MS-13; increased coordination 

and collaboration with international law enforcement partners, including El Salvador, Mexico, 

Honduras, and Guatemala; designated priority targeting of prosecutions against MS-13 cliques and 

leaders who have the most impact on the U.S.; and coordinated significant MS-13 indictments in 

United States Attorneys’ Offices across the country.11 

In addition, components of the Department’s Criminal Division are involved in efforts to 

dismantle MS-13. The Organized Crime and Gang Section (OCGS), together with U.S. 

Attorneys’ Offices, has indicted and tried complex RICO prosecutions against significant MS-13 

leaders, members, and associates across the country. The Office of International Affairs (OIA) 

has worked with federal prosecutors and Salvadoran counterparts to pursue the extradition of 

high-level MS-13 targets and obtain crucial foreign evidence for MS-13 cases. The Office of 

Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) offered sustained 

assistance in Central America, coordinating with counterparts in El Salvador, Guatemala, and 

Honduras on joint operations against the MS-13 that have resulted in significant indictments and 

seizures of firearms and money – efforts that continue through Operation Regional Shield. And 

the Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO) has provided critical support and assistance to MS13 investigations. 

This report highlights the Department’s work to dismantle MS-13 over the past four years. 

The Department’s efforts have resulted in the prosecution of at least 749 MS-13 defendants. So 

far, more than 500 MS-13 defendants have been sentenced to prison, including 37 who received 

life sentences. Many other defendants are awaiting trial, including two against whom the 

Department is seeking the death penalty. Others are pending sentencing. Based on our best 

information, approximately 74% of the MS-13 defendants prosecuted during the past four years 

are in the United States illegally. Federal law enforcement agencies have expanded partnerships 

with their international counterparts, which has led to increased intelligence sharing, joint 

9 JTFV is led by prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and the 

Department of Justice’s National Security and Criminal Divisions, as well as, select prosecutors from across the 

United States, including from the districts of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Nevada, Utah, the Eastern District of 

Virginia, District of Colombia, Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of California and Eastern District of 

Texas. In addition, all Department of Justice law enforcement agencies are involved in the effort – the Federal 

Bureau of Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 

Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Bureau of Prisons. The Department of Homeland Security’s 

Homeland Security Investigations plays a critical role in JTFV. 

10 See, e.g., Department of Justice (Press Release), Attorney General William P. Barr to Travel to El Salvador to 

Advance Key Department of Justice Priorities, May 15, 2019, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-generalwilliam-p-barr-travel-el-salvador-advance-key-department-justice-priorities. 11 See, e.g., Department of Justice (Press Release), MS-13 Gang Member Arrested in El Salvador for Murder on 

Long Island, Aug. 17, 2020, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/ms-13-gang-member-arrested-el-salvadormurder-long-island; Department of Justice (Press Release), The Department of Justice Announces Takedown of Key 

MS-13 Criminal Leadership, July 15, 2020, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-announcestakedown-key-ms-13-criminal-leadership; Department of Justice (Press Release), Attorney General William P. Barr 

to Travel to El Salvador to Advance Key Department of Justice Priorities, May 15, 2019, 

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-william-p-barr-travel-el-salvador-advance-key-department-justicepriorities. 

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operations, and extraditions. More than 500 MS-13 defendants have been arrested abroad with the 

help of international cooperation, and more than 50 defendants have been extradited to the United 

States. 

II. THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S PROSECUTIONS HAVE TAKEN 

HUNDREDS OF MS-13 MEMBERS OFF THE STREETS 

A. The Department of Justice Has Prosecuted Hundreds of MS-13 Defendants 

The Department of Justice and its federal law enforcement partners’ efforts have resulted 

in the indictment or conviction of hundreds of MS-13 defendants (see Figure 1). 

Figure 1: MS-13 Defendants Charged by Department of Justice, 2016-2020 

Fiscal Year Defendants Charged 

2016 105 

2017 174 

2018 207 

2019 136 

2020 127 

Total 749 

Source: U.S. Department of Justice 

From 2016 to 2020, the Department of Justice convicted at least 504 MS-13 defendants. Figure 2 

provides a summary of terms of imprisonment for convicted MS-13 defendants. 

Figure 2: Terms of Imprisonment, Convicted MS-13 Defendants, 2016-2020 

Fiscal Year 1 24 Months 25 60 Months 61+ Months Life 

2016 8 14 25 0 

2017 14 16 49 14 

2018 36 18 31 9 

2019 55 16 48 8 

2020 16 16 26 6 

Total 129 80 179 37 

Source: U.S. Department of Justice 

The Attorney General is also seeking the death penalty in two MS-13 cases. Alexi Saenz 

was indicted in 2017 in the Eastern District of New York in case number 16-CR-403. The 

indictment alleges that between 2016 and 2017, Saenz committed seven murders: (1) the January 

28, 2016, murder of Michael Johnson; (2) the April 29, 2016, murder of Oscar Acosta; (3-4) the 

Sept. 13, 2016, murders of Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens; (5) the October 10, 2016, murder of 

Javier Castillo; (6) the October 13, 2016, murder of Dewann Stacks; (7) and the January 30, 2017, 

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murder of Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla. Four of the victims were local high school students. Six of 

the seven victims were killed with a machete and/or baseball bat.12 

Elmer Zelaya Martinez was originally indicted in 2018 and was later charged with deatheligibility offenses in the Eastern District of Virginia in case number 18-CR-123. The indictment 

alleges that Martinez, a high-ranking member of the Park View Locos Salvatrucha clique, 

coordinated the 2016 stabbing and hacking deaths of 17-year-old E.E.M. and 14-year-old S.A.G.. 

According to the indictment, Zelaya Martinez and other MS-13 members killed E.E.M. because 

they believed he was a member of a rival gang. S.A.G. was killed because gang members thought 

he was cooperating with law enforcement. Their bodies were found in a Falls Church park in 

2017.13 

B. The Department of Justice Has Used a Wide Range of Federal Criminal Statutes 

to Target MS-13 

The Department of Justice has targeted MS-13 using traditional criminal offenses, and, for 

the first time in July 2020 charged an MS-13 leader with national security offenses. The primary 

charges that the Department Justice is using against MS-13 are provided in Figure 3. 

Figure 3: Criminal Statutes Charged in MS-13 Cases, 2016-2020 

Racketeering (RICO) 18 U.S.C. § 1962 

Murder in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR Murder) 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1) 

Murder in the Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the 

United States 

18 U.S.C. § 1111 

Maiming in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR Maiming) 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(2) 

Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR 

Assault with a Dangerous Weapon) 

18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3) 

Conspiracy to Provide and Conceal Material Support to Terrorists 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(a)) 

Conspiracy to Kill or Maim Persons Outside the United States 18 U.S.C. § 956(a)(1) 

Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Terrorism Transcending National 

Boundaries 

18 U.S.C. § 2332b(a)(1) 

Conspiracy to Finance Terrorism 18 U.S.C. § 2339C(a) 

Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy 21 U.S.C. § 960a(a) 

Conspiracy to Violate IEEPA 50 U.S.C. § 1705(a) 

Robbery and Extortion 18 U.S.C. § 1951 

Kidnapping 18 U.S.C. § 1201 

Human Trafficking 18 U.S.C. § 1591 

Using a Firearm During a Crime of Violence 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) 

Dealing Firearms Without a License 18 U.S.C. § 922(a) 

Felon in Possession of a Firearm 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) 

Illegal Alien in Possession of a Firearm 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5) 

12 Department of Justice (Press Release), The Department of Justice Announces Takedown of Key MS-13 Criminal 

Leadership, July 15, 2020, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-announces-takedown-key-ms-13-

criminal-leadership. 13 See United States v. Martinez, 18-CR-123, Docket 425, Jan. 6, 2020, Notice of Intent to Seek Death Penalty, 

https://ecf.vaed.uscourts.gov/doc1/189110186088. 

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Illegal Reentry Following Deportation 18 U.S.C. § 1326 

Narcotics Distribution 21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 846 

Continuing Criminal Enterprise (Kingpin Statute) 21 U.S.C. § 848 

Source: U.S. Department of Justice 

C. The Department of Justice Has Targeted MS-13 Leadership in the United 

States and Abroad 

Grand juries throughout the United States have charged MS-13 leaders residing both in the 

United States and abroad. A summary of recent cases is provided below. 

• United States v. Melgar-Diaz, 20-CR-123 (Eastern District of Virginia) 

On July 14, 2020, an indictment charging Armando Eliu Melgar Diaz (“Melgar Diaz”), 30, 

with RICO conspiracy and terrorism charges was unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia. 

Specifically, Melgar Diaz, the first MS-13 leader to face terrorism charges in the United States, 

was charged in an eight-count indictment with: conspiracy to participate in a racketeering 

enterprise, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill or maim persons 

outside of the United States, conspiracy to commit acts of terror transcending national boundaries, 

conspiracy to finance terrorism, narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to violate IEEPA, and 

conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. As alleged in the indictment, Melgar Diaz moved 

to the United States from El Salvador in 2003, and settled in Northern Virginia. After moving to 

Northern Virginia, he joined the Gangster Locos Salvatruchas, also known as GLS, a clique of 

MS-13. In February 2013, Melgar Diaz was deported to El Salvador, but illegally returned to the 

United States in approximately August of 2013. In November 2016, Melgar Diaz was once again 

deported to El Salvador. He has resided in El Salvador since 2016. 

After his return to El Salvador, Melgar Diaz continued to be an active member of MS-13. 

In approximately May 2017, Melgar Diaz became the Corredor, or leader, of the MS-13 East Coast 

Program. As Corredor, Melgar Diaz oversaw the activities of approximately 20 MS-13 cliques in 

the United States, including in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, New York, 

Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, Ohio, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and the District 

of Columbia. Melgar Diaz also oversaw MS-13 activities internationally in El Salvador, 

Guatemala, and Mexico. Melgar Diaz coordinated financing for MS-13 by collecting dues and 

drug trafficking proceeds, aided in trafficking cocaine and marijuana, facilitated communications 

between MS-13 leaders in El Salvador and cliques in the United States, and authorized acts of 

violence in the United States, including murder. The money Melgar Diaz received from members 

in the United States was used to support MS-13’s violent activities in El Salvador, including by 

purchasing weapons. Melgar Diaz is currently in custody in El Salvador, where he is facing drug 

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trafficking and conspiracy to commit murder charges. The United States has requested Melgar 

Diaz’s extradition.14 

• United States v. Carlos Alfaro, et al., 20-CR-251 (Eastern District of New 

York) 

On July 14, 2020, a 24-count indictment was unsealed in the Eastern District of New York 

charging eight members of MS-13 with multiple racketeering offenses in connection with six 

murders, two attempted murders, a kidnapping conspiracy and narcotics trafficking conspiracies, 

as well as related charges including assault in aid of racketeering and firearms offenses. 

The indictment alleges that defendants Carlos Alfaro, Jose Moises Blanco, Oseas 

Gonzalez, Jose Jonathan Guevara-Castro, Victor Lopez-Morales, Ever Morales-Lopez, David 

Sosa-Guevara and Kevin Torres are members of “cliques” of the MS-13 operating on Long Island: 

the Hollywood Locos Salvatruchas (“Hollywood”) clique and the Sailors Locos Salvatruchas 

Westside (“Sailors”) clique. Sosa-Guevara and Torres were the New York leaders of the 

Hollywood and Sailors cliques, respectively, and were in direct communication with high-ranking 

MS-13 leaders in El Salvador. As part of a national takedown coordinated by JTFV and law 

enforcement agencies in the Eastern District of New York, District of Nevada, Central District of 

California, Eastern District of Virginia, and Western and Middle Districts of North Carolina, 

Blanco and Gonzalez were arrested on July 14, 2020 in Salisbury and Charlotte, North Carolina, 

respectively. Guevara-Castro was arrested in El Salvador on August 13, 2020 and is pending 

extradition to the United States. Two additional MS-13 members, both of whom were juveniles 

at the time they allegedly committed the crimes, have separately been charged with racketeering 

offenses and several murders. By statute, those cases remain under seal at this time. 

As detailed in the indictment and in the government’s detention letter, in 2016 and 2017 

the Sailors and Hollywood cliques of the MS-13 gang collaborated in the criminal activities on 

behalf of MS-13, including: the murders of six suspected rival gang members, two of whom were 

juveniles; planning the kidnapping, assault, and/or murder of an MS-13 member who had violated 

the rules of the gang; attacking a group of males who had gathered in front of a house with two 

victims sustaining significant injuries, including one victim with a gunshot to the leg and another 

victim who was shot and slashed in the head, face, and arms; and conspiring to distribute cocaine 

and/or marijuana, the proceeds of which were used to help finance MS-13’s criminal operations. 

During the execution of court-authorized search and seizure warrants, law enforcement 

agents and officers recovered additional evidence, including machetes, firearms, ammunition, 

narcotics, and MS-13-related paraphernalia.15 

14 Department of Justice (Press Release), MS-13 Leader in El Salvador Charged with RICO and Terrorism Offenses, 

July 15, 2020, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/ms-13-leader-el-salvador-charged-rico-and-terrorism-offenses. 15 Department of Justice (Press Release), MS-13 Gang Members Indicted for Six Murders on Long Island, July 15, 

2020, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/ms-13-leader-el-salvador-charged-rico-and-terrorism-offenses. 

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• United States v. Adali Alnurfo Escalante-Trujillo et al., 20-CR-156 (District of 

Nevada) 

On July 14, 2020, a 21-count indictment was unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the 

District of Nevada, charging 13 leaders, members, and associates of MS-13 with a violation of the 

federal “kingpin” statute and multiple drugs and firearms offenses, including transporting bulk 

quantities of methamphetamine from Los Angeles, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Eleven of 

the 13 defendants were taken into custody that same day as part of the aforementioned national 

takedown coordinated by JTFV. 

As alleged in the indictment, three defendants, Adali Arnulfo Escalante-Trujillo, also 

known as “Buchaca,” (“Escalante-Trujillo”), Jose Alfredo Ayala-Flores, also known as “Blackie,” 

(“Ayala-Flores”), and Alvaro Ernesto Perez Carias, also known as “Toro,” (“Perez Carias”) were 

“Homeboys”16 in the MS-13 Hollywood Locos and Fulton cliques. Escalante-Trujillo was the Las 

Vegas-based “shot caller” of the Hollywood Locos clique, leading the Las Vegas sector of the 

gang, which was involved in narcotics and firearms distribution. He bragged about the violent acts 

committed by MS-13, boasted of connections between MS-13 and the Mexican Mafia, and bragged 

that MS-13 had come to work with nearly all Mexican Cartels. 

Reflecting his senior position within MS-13’s hierarchy, Escalante-Trujillo was in direct 

contact with an MS-13 founding member living in El Salvador. Escalante-Trujillo brokered nearly 

every narcotics and firearms trafficking charge alleged in the indictment. Among other things, 

Escalante-Trujillo hosted MS-13 members from Los Angeles at his Las Vegas home, to enable 

their transportation of bulk quantities of methamphetamine from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. One 

such member was Ayala-Flores, a “shot caller,” who led the MS-13 “Los Angeles Program,” a 

leadership group that seeks to unify MS-13 decision-making throughout the United States. In early 

2020, Ayala-Flores and Escalante-Trujillo arranged numerous bulk methamphetamine deals in Las 

Vegas. Ayala-Flores also sent bulk pills, laced with fentanyl, through the mail. Additionally, 

Ayala-Flores possessed three rifles (bearing no serial numbers) illegally, due to his prior 

conviction for attempted murder. Finally, Perez Carias, a “shot caller” and founding member of 

the Hollywood Locos clique, personally delivered large quantities of methamphetamine from Los 

Angeles to Las Vegas this year. 

Aside from Escalante-Trujillo, Ayala-Flores, and Perez Carias, the remaining ten 

defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute drugs (between July 2019 and the present) 

and conducting individual drug deals over the past 12 months. The indictment also charges 

16 A “Homeboy” is a fully initiated gang member who has undergone a “jumping in” ceremony. That ceremony 

involves passing a “beating test” where the prospective MS-13 member must survive a group of existing gang 

members beating him for 13 seconds. Once jumped in, MS-13 members are expected to participate in the gang’s 

criminal activities. Certain “Homeboys” also operate as “Palabreros” or “shot callers,” making the ultimate 

decisions affecting the clique. 

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defendants with illegally possessing and selling silencers, semiautomatic rifles, and semiautomatic 

handguns.

17 

• United States v. Moises Orlando Zalaya-Veliz, 1:20-MJ-215 (Eastern District 

of Virginia) 

During the first week of August, 2020, 11 members or close associates of MS-13—Moises 

Orlando Zelaya-Veliz, Sioni Alexander Bonilla Gonzalez, Carlos Jose Turicios Villatoro, Jose 

Eliezar Molina-Veliz, Santos Ernesto Gutierrez Castro, Luis Alberto Gonzales, Reina Elizabeth 

Hernandez, Nelson Ezequiel Caballero Portillo, Gilberto Morales, Jonathan Rafael Zelaya-Veliz, 

and Orlando Alexis Salmeron Funez—were taken into custody for sexual exploitation and physical 

abuse of a minor in Northern Virginia and Maryland. 

According to court documents, in August 2018, a 13-year-old victim ran away from a youth 

home in Northern Virginia. Shortly after running away, the victim was introduced to members of 

MS-13. MS-13 members beat the victim 26 times with a baseball bat as part of a gang initiation. 

Gang members then sexually exploited the victim by directing her to participate in sex acts in 

Virginia and Maryland. While in Northern Virginia, men lined up to have sex with her in a wooded 

area behind one MS-13 member’s apartment complex. The men gave her drugs in exchange for 

sex. She also was harbored in various apartments in Northern Virginia where men paid her and her 

handlers cash for sex. The victim was later beaten again with a baseball bat 26 times. After the 

second bat beating, the victim was moved to Maryland, where she was sexually exploited by 

numerous gang members and other customers in exchange for cash.18 

III. MS-13 WAS ABLE TO OPERATE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR 

DECADES BY EXPLOITING WEAKNESSES IN U.S. IMMIGRATION 

ENFORCEMENT POLICIES; THE VAST MAJORITY OF MS-13 

DEFENDANTS PROSECUTED ARE FOREIGN NATIONALS 

For decades, MS-13 thrived in the United States by taking advantage of weak immigration 

enforcement policies. MS-13 recruited and utilized foreign nationals, most often from Central 

America, who were in the United States illegally. The immigration status of MS-13 defendants 

prosecuted by the Department of Justice between 2016 and 2020 is described in Figure 4. 

17 Department of Justice (Press Release), Thirteen Defendants, Including National Leadership of MS-13, Charged 

With Multiple Firearms And Drug Distribution Offenses And Violation Of The “Kingpin” Statute, July 15, 2020, 

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/thirteen-defendants-including-national-leadership-ms-13-charged-multiplefirearms-and. 18 Department of Justice (Press Release), MS-13 Members and Associates Arrested for Sex Trafficking a Minor, 

Aug. 5, 2020, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/ms-13-members-and-associates-arrested-sex-trafficking-minor. 

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Figure 4: Immigration Status of M3-13 Related Defendants Charged in 2016-2020 

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

IV. THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S PARTNERSHIP WITH 

INTERNATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS RESULTED IN 

HUNDREDS OF MS-13 ARRESTS 

Leaders of MS-13 based in Central America have directed MS-13 criminal activities in the 

United States. These leaders – many of whom were previously deported from the United States – 

operated with impunity because of failure of the rule of law and law enforcement corruption in 

these countries; a lack of law enforcement training; and a lack of coordination between U.S. law 

enforcement and their Central American counterparts. Recognizing that dismantling MS-13 in the 

United States requires strong international partnerships, JTFV, OPDAT, OIA and OCGS have 

closely partnered with law enforcement in Central America and Mexico to develop cases against 

MS-13 leaders, coordinated multinational investigations, and provided training and operational 

support for their investigations. The results of these efforts are highlighted below.19 

A. The Department of Justice and Its Federal Law Enforcement Partners Have 

Trained, Provided Investigative Support, and Conducted Joint Operations with 

Vetted International Law Enforcement Units 

Consistent with the President’s directive, the Department of Justice has applied a wholeof-government approach and marshaled the resources of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

(“FBI”), Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (“ATF”), Drug Enforcement Administration 

19 See, e.g., Department of Justice (Press Release), Attorney General William P. Barr to Travel to El Salvador to 

Advance Key Department of Justice Priorities, May 15, 2019, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-generalwilliam-p-barr-travel-el-salvador-advance-key-department-justice-priorities; U.S. Department of Homeland 

Security, Combating Gangs, https://www.ice.gov/features/gangs (“In FY 2018, HSI deployed special agents to 

embed with Government of El Salvador law enforcement partners and HSI San Salvador’s Transnational Criminal 

Investigative Unit (TCIU) to implement HSI’s strategy to identify, exploit, and disrupt MS-13’s financial networks 

within El Salvador.”). 

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(“DEA”), United States Marshal Service (“USMS”), Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), 

and Department of State to assist law enforcement in Central America and Mexico. Each of these 

agencies has supported law enforcement in Central America and Mexico in the battle against MS13 by providing its expertise through training, operational support, the deployment of specialized 

technology, and intelligence sharing. 

• Providing Training and Operational Support to International Law Enforcement 

Units 

To target MS-13, the FBI created Transnational 

Anti-Gang Units (“TAG”) where FBI special agents and 

analytical staff are embedded with their international law 

enforcement partners to investigate MS-13 and other gangs 

found in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. TAG 

officers are selected from the national police force of each 

member country and are vetted by the FBI. The TAGs 

include 53 officers from Guatemala, 16 from Honduras, and 

51 from El Salvador. Through TAG, the FBI and the 

international law enforcement officers work side-by-side to 

target MS-13 leaders in each country, support ongoing MS13 investigations in the United States, and assist in the 

extradition of fugitives who have fled to one of the member 

countries. TAG has made hundreds of MS-13-related 

arrests since 2016 (see Figure 5). 

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Figure 5: MS-13 Arrests by Transnational Anti-Gang Units (“TAG”), 2016-202020 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation 

Since 2016, TAG Guatemala assisted in the extradition of 35 MS-13 defendants to the 

United States and six to El Salvador. TAG Honduras assisted in the extradition of approximately 

20 MS-13 defendants to the United States. TAG El Salvador assisted in the extradition of 13 

defendants to the United States.21 

Moreover, ATF provided training and investigative support related to firearms and 

explosives to Salvadoran law enforcement. After MS-13 and other gangs targeted Salvadoran law 

enforcement with a series of bombings, ATF assisted Salvadoran authorities in its investigation 

into the bombings.

22 

The USMS has worked with El Salvador’s National Police to increase cooperation and 

coordination related to the apprehension of MS-13 fugitives. As part of these efforts, the USMS 

has participated in regular intelligence sharing with their international counterparts to locate MS20 These numbers were provided by the TAG Unit where the FBI is assisting. TAG Units in Guatemala and 

Honduras investigate both the MS-13 and 18th Street organizations and do not maintain separate arrest statistics for 

each organization. 

21 See, e.g., Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) Task Forces, https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/gangs; 

Training to Fight Transnational Gangs, https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/newss-the-fbi-and-central-americanlaw-enforcement-exchange-training/view. 22 See, e.g., Fox News, 2 police wounded by bomb in car in El Salvador's capital, Apr. 29, 2019, 

https://www.foxnews.com/world/2-police-wounded-by-bomb-in-car-in-el-salvadors-capital. 

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13 fugitives in the United States and El Salvador. The increased cooperation has led to the arrest 

of MS-13 fugitives in Central America and the United States. 

HSI has used Transnational Criminal Investigative Units (“TCIUs”) that are composed of 

vetted prosecutors and law enforcement officers from Central America who have been specially 

trained by HSI to target MS-13 in Central America.

23 The TCIUs assist HSI in its efforts to prevent 

dangerous MS-13 members from entering the United States. Since 2016, TCIUs have participated 

in the arrest of 177 MS-13 related defendants in El Salvador, and have opened more than 50 MS13 cases in El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

• Working with International Partners to Proactively Identify MS-13 Members 

Before They Enter the United States 

HSI, with the support of the FBI, Department of Defense, and other Department of 

Homeland Security components, has partnered with law enforcement in Central America to 

identify and track dangerous MS-13 members so that they can be stopped before they enter the 

United States. As part of this initiative, DHS has deployed the Biometric Identification 

Transnational Migration Alert Program (“BITMAP”) in Central America. The BITMAP system 

stores biometric data for individuals enrolled in the system and shares it with law enforcement and 

immigration authorities in Central America and the United States. By enrolling MS-13 gang 

members into BITMAP, HSI is able to ensure that these dangerous individuals are identified if 

they attempt to enter the United States. 24 

Most MS-13 members who are illegally present in the United States enter via Mexico. 

Working with its partners in Mexico, DHS has also deployed its DHS Biometric Encounter 

Analysis and Screening Team (“BDSP”) to Migration Centers in Mexico so that MS-13 members 

can be detected before they reach the United States.

25 

• Coordinating Intelligence and Record Sharing 

Government records, including identity documents and criminal records, are critical to 

identifying, locating, and prosecuting MS-13 members. Record sharing prevents MS-13 members 

23 See, e.g., Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Testimony, House Committee on 

Homeland Security Hearing, “Combating Transnational Gangs Through Information Sharing”, 

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/01/18/written-testimony-ice-house-homeland-security-subcommitteecounterterrorism-and; Department of Homeland Security, Operation Raging Bull, 

https://www.ice.gov/features/raging-bull, (“Caso Pilato, an 18 month investigation into MS-13 by HSI’s 

Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit (TCIU) in El Salvador, with significant support from HSI San Salvador, 

concluded in September following an 18-month investigation with the arrests of 53 MS-13 members and associates 

during Operation Tecana, the enforcement phase of the investigation.”). 

24 See, e.g., Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Testimony, House Committee on 

Homeland Security Hearing, “Combating Transnational Criminal Threats in the Western Hemisphere”, 

https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Speech/2018/180523villanueva.pdf. 25 See, e.g., Department of Homeland Security, Fact Sheet: DHS Agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, and El 

Salvador, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19_1003_opa_fact-sheet-agreements-northern-centralamerica-countries.pdf; Department of Homeland Security, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, “Potential Terrorist 

Threats: Border Security Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean”, 

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2016/03/22/written-testimony-plcy-house-foreign-affairs-subcommittee-westernhemisphere-hearing. 

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from fleeing from one Central American country to another and assists Central American countries 

in their efforts to control their borders. The Department of State in partnership with representatives 

from Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru has created an intelligence center that 

coordinates the sharing of these records between member countries.26 

B. Examples of Successful Operations as a Result of the Department of Justice’s 

Coordination with International Law Enforcement 

Dozens of significant prosecutions and extraditions have resulted from increased 

partnership between U.S. law enforcement and their counterparts. Recent examples include: 

• TAG Partnership 

From 2016-2018, information from TAG wiretaps in El Salvador resulted in authorization 

for Title III wiretaps in Boston and Newark. The collaboration on the wiretaps and other 

investigation resulted in the dismantling of MS-13’s East Coast Program (“ECP”). TAG Officers 

from El Salvador were sent to Virginia, Texas, California, Ohio, and Maryland to work side by 

side with the FBI in assisting federal, state and local law enforcement with the arrest of more than 

100 MS-13 ECP members in the United States. 

From January 16, 2019 to February 15, 2019, officers from TAG El Salvador, TAG 

Guatemala, and TAG Honduras deployed to the U.S./Mexico border, near San Diego, to assist 

DHS in the processing of caravan members. The TAG officers assisted CBP in identifying 

possible gang members using the caravan to gain entrance into the U.S. under asylum requests. 

TAG officers supported U.S. law enforcement by: assisting in 136 interviews; identifying 30 

individuals affiliated with gangs, identifying 47 individuals with criminal histories; and identifying 

three individuals with arrest warrants in Honduras and El Salvador for attempted homicide, 

aggravated robbery, and terrorist activity. 

• TCIU Partnership 

On August 26, 2020, TCIU in El Salvador working with HSI arrested 34 MS-13 members 

for human smuggling, homicide, extortion, and membership in a terrorist organization. Among 

those arrested was Hector Antonio Alfaro Flores (“Alfaro Flores”), the leader of the MS-13 Los 

Angeles program in El Salvador, and Manuel de Jesus Silva, the leader of a smuggling organization 

that was smuggling El Salvadoran nationals to the United States, and an officer from the National 

Police who was working with Silva in the smuggling operation. 

• Fugitive Apprehensions 

The USMS partnered with Salvadoran authorities to locate an individual in the United 

States wanted by Salvadoran authorities for a homicide that he committed before he entered the 

United States. USMS investigators determined that he was in the National Capital region and had 

26 See, e.g., Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs: El Salvador 

Summary, https://www.state.gov/bureau-of-international-narcotics-and-law-enforcement-affairs-work-bycountry/el-salvador-summary/ 

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been recently arrested by local law enforcement. USMS partnering with ICE ERO located and 

arrested the individual in Falls Church, Virginia on immigration violations on February 19, 2019. 

On August 18, 2020, the USMS working with Salvadoran authorities returned MS-13 

member Adonay Polanco Cabrera to the United States to face murder charges. Polanco Cabrera 

fled Northern Virginia following participation in a November 2016 murder in Fairfax County. 

Salvadoran authorities worked with the USMS to arrest Cabrera in July 2018 in El Salvador. 

Polanco Cabrera was turned over to Fairfax Country authorities and is now in custody awaiting 

trial. 27 

Inter-agency cooperation and assistance was integral in the location, arrest and extradition 

of JTFV priority target Nelson Alexander Flores Pacheco, aka Mula, on May 20, 2020. This was 

a whole-of-government, coordinated effort with the FBI ALATs in Mexico, the Mexican Federal 

Police, the USMS, HSI, CBP, and DEA SOD. Flores Pacheco had an arrest warrant issued in the 

Southern District of Ohio charging him with racketeering, extortion and money laundering. 

27 Fairfax County Police Department, 2016 Homicide Suspect Arrested in El Salvador; Extradited to Fairfax County, 

Aug. 27, 2020, https://fcpdnews.wordpress.com/2020/08/27/2016-homicide-suspect-arrested-in-el-salvadorextradited-to-fairfax-county/ 

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