Two National MS 13 Gang Leaders and Other MS 13 Members and Associates Indicted for Murders in Queens and Long Island

Press Release

Superseding Indictment Adds Charges Relating to Three Murders, Including Charges Against National Gang Leaders Edenilson Velasquez Larin and Hugo Diaz Amaya

A 49-count superseding indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn that includes new charges relating to murders allegedly ordered and committed by national leaders, members and associates of the violent transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13. To date, multiple MS-13 members and associates have been charged in the case for numerous crimes including the murders of Andy Peralta in 2018, Victor Alvarenga in 2018, Abel Mosso in 2019 and Eric Monge in 2020. The superseding indictment filed today includes new charges against the following MS-13 members and associates:

• Edenilson Velasquez Larin, also known as "Agresor," "Saturno," "Tiny," "Erick" and "Paco," allegedly a national leader of MS-13 and the Fulton Locos Salvatruchas (Fulton) clique, who is charged with the 2016 murder of Kenney Reyes and for ordering the murders of Monge in 2020 and Oswaldo Gutierrez Medrano in 2022.
• Hugo Diaz Amaya, also known as "21" and "Splinter," allegedly another national leader of MS-13 and the Park View Locos Salvatruchas clique, who is charged with racketeering conspiracy and the murder of Gutierrez Medrano in 2022.
• Numerous other members of the Fulton clique, all of whom were previously charged in the case, have also now been charged with the murders of Reyes, Monge and Gutierrez Medrano.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), William S. Walker, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York, Thomas G. Donlon, Interim Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), and Patrick Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), announced the arrests and charges.

"My Office and our law enforcement partners have worked tirelessly to hold MS-13 accountable for the unspeakable harm it has done to its victims and our communities. As these charges make clear, our pursuit of those responsible will not be deterred by the passage of time or by the leaders of MS-13's futile attempts to hide in the shadows," stated United States Attorney Peace. "This indictment strikes yet another blow at MS-13's leadership and demonstrates our work to dismantle MS-13 from top to bottom."

Mr. Peace also thanked the FBI Baltimore Field Office's Cross Border Task Force, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office for their valuable coordination with the investigation.

"Edenilson Velasquez Larin and Hugo Diaz Amaya, national MS-13 leaders, allegedly assumed the role of executioner by ordering and participating with the other charged defendants in a series of brutal murders to achieve status and revenge. These alleged conspiracies highlight the fearmongering and callousness in which MS-13 leaders and members operate. May today's charges reflect the FBI's commitment to continue its close collaboration with our law enforcement partners to rigorously dismantle the MS-13 hierarchy and disrupt all gang violence terrorizing our communities," stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy.

"The defendants' ruthless violence, in furtherance of the MS-13 gang, has no place in society and our communities," said Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker. "Everyday, HSI New York and our law enforcement partners are utilizing every tool at our disposal to dismantle transnational gangs that jeopardize the safety of New Yorkers, as demonstrated with today's announcement. No stone will be left unturned in our pursuit of justice on behalf of the victims slain by MS-13 gang members."

"These new charges highlight the NYPD's relentless pursuit of individuals terrorizing our communities," stated NYPD Interim Commissioner Donlon. "We and our law enforcement partners must continue to find and dismantle the gangs that fuel crime on our streets, and we must hold their members accountable for their senseless acts of violence. I express my gratitude to all of our federal, state, and local partners for their steadfast dedication to our shared public safety goal."

"We want to thank our partners in federal law enforcement, particularly the United States Attorney's Office, for this collaborative effort to bring these violent and destructive criminals to justice," stated Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. "From our patrol officers on the street to the dedicated investigators in our Detective Division, the Nassau County Police Department is committed to fighting gang violence and rooting out those who bring destruction to our communities."

The U.S. Program

As alleged in court filings, MS-13 is an extraordinarily violent street gang operating through "cliques" or chapters in Queens, Long Island and communities across the United States, as well as El Salvador, Honduras and other countries in the Americas and Europe. The gang primarily makes money through drug trafficking and extortion, and is known for its gruesome murders of perceived gang rivals and gang members and associates who have violated the gang's rules. MS-13 has been responsible for dozens of murders in the Eastern District of New York alone.

Since approximately 2021, virtually all MS-13 cliques in the United States have been united under a single hierarchy known as the "U.S. Program." The U.S. Program is led by a group of senior gang leaders, most of whom are incarcerated, known as "La Mesa" or "The Table." La Mesa, among other roles, allegedly authorizes and directs murders throughout the country, including in New York. Prior to their arrests, Velasquez Larin and Diaz Amaya were allegedly two of the few members of La Mesa outside of prison - Velasquez Larin was living in Colorado and Diaz Amaya was living in Kansas - and were among the top leaders responsible for the gang's operations on the East Coast.

Murder of Kenny Reyes

The superseding indictment adds charges for the 2016 murder in Uniondale, New York, of 18-year-old Kenny Reyes, who had recently come to the United States from Honduras. As alleged in court filings, Fulton clique member Jose Espinoza Sanchez befriended Reyes and learned that he had been associated with the 18th Street gang, rivals of MS-13. Velasquez Larin and Espinoza Sanchez plotted with other members of MS-13 in Nassau County to murder Reyes to increase their positions in the gang. On May 23, 2016, Velasquez Larin, Espinoza Sanchez and two others lured Reyes to a wooded area to smoke marijuana, where they killed him with machetes and buried his body. For years after the murder, Velasquez Larin bragged about their roles in the killing to other MS-13 members.

Murder of Eric Monge

The superseding indictment charges Velasquez Larin and Espinoza Sanchez for their roles in ordering the murder of Eric Monge, and Jose Guevara Aguilar, Jose Arevalo Iraheta and Erick Zavala Hernandez for their participation in the murder. As alleged, in the early morning hours of September 6, 2020, Guevara Aguilar and fellow Fulton clique member Oscar Hernandez Baires shot and killed Monge while he was seated in the front passenger seat of his parked car near his home in Queens. Monge's wife had just returned to the car after bringing their young children inside their residence when Hernandez Baires and Guevara Aguilar began shooting. After the shooting, Guevara Aguilar and Hernandez Baires ran back to a car where Arevalo Iraheta and Zavala Hernandez were waiting to help them escape. As they fled to the car, Guevara Aguilar dropped his hat, which was later found to have his DNA on it.

Murder of Oswaldo Gutierrez Medrano

The superseding indictment also adds charges relating to the 2022 murder in Nassau County of 20-year-old Oswaldo Gutierrez Medrano, a member of the Sailors clique of MS-13. As alleged, Velasquez Larin and Diaz Amaya ordered the murder of Gutierrez Medrano, and Diaz Amaya coordinated luring Gutierrez Medrano to meet other MS-13 members under the false pretense that he would be receiving a promotion within MS-13. In Nassau County, on February 13, 2022, Gutierrez Medrano allegedly met with those other members of MS-13, including defendants Arevalo Iraheta, Carlos Alvarado, Erick Galdamez Leon and Jose Mejia Hernandez, who allegedly killed him with machetes and knives, dismembered his body and buried him in a wooded area.

The charges in the superseding <_w3a_listitem listvalue="Choose an item."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="complaint" datavalue="complaint"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="complaints" datavalue="complaints"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="indictment" datavalue="indictment"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="indictments" datavalue="indictments">indictment are allegations, and the <_w3a_listitem listvalue="Choose an item."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="defendant is" datavalue="defendant is"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="defendants are" datavalue="defendants are">defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated as part of the ongoing efforts by the OCDETF, a partnership that brings together the combined expertise of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation's illegal drug supply.

Today's charges are the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13. Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders and assaults. Since 2009, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 70 murders in the district and has convicted dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders. These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by our law enforcement partners.

The government's case is being handled by the Office's Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Siegel, Michael W. Gibaldi, Anna L. Karamigios and Sophia M. Suarez are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Eleanor Jaffe-Pachuilo.

New Defendant:

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HUGO DIAZ AMAYA (also known as "21" and "Splinter")
Age: 36
Kansas City, Kansas

Defendants Previously Indicted:

RAMIRO GUTIERREZ (also known as "Cara de Malo")
Age: 31
Flushing, New York

VICTOR LOPEZ (also known as "Curioso")
Age: 26
Flushing, New York

TITO MARTINEZ-ALVARENGA (also known as "Imprudente")
Age: 24
Flushing, New York

ISMAEL SANTOS-NOVOA (also known as "Profe" and "Travieso")
Age: 36
Flushing, New York

EDENILSON VELASQUEZ LARIN (also known as "Agresor," "Saturno," "Tiny," "Erick" and "Paco")
Age: 35
Thornton, Colorado

CHRISTIAN ALAS LEON (also known as "Pata de Chucho")
Age: 26
Westbury, New York

CARLOS ALVARADO (also known as "Brayle" and "Danny")
Age: 21
Westbury, New York

JOSE AREVALO IRAHETA (also known as "Splinter," "Inesperado" and "Daniel")
Age: 27
Queens, New York

JOSE ESPINOZA SANCHEZ (also known as "Cable," "Bleca," "Clave," "Fantasma" and "Victor")
Age: 25
Carrboro, North Carolina

ERICK GALDAMEZ LEON (also known as "Truco," "Burro," and "Chicle")
Age: 24
Westbury, New York

JOSE GUEVARA AGUILAR (also known as "Tranquilo," "Malhechor," and "Angel"
Age: 25
Queens, New York

KEILA HERNANDEZ MAY
Age: 37
Carrboro, North Carolina

YONATHAN HERNANDEZ
Age: 25
Hempstead, New York

JOSE MEJIA HERNANDEZ (also known as "Mismo" and "Timbre")
Age: 22
Westbury, New York

JOSE PEREZ OVANDO (also known as "Domino" and "Incompleto")
Age: 24
Westbury, New York

ERICK ZAVALA HERNANDEZ (also known as "Berry," "Berro," and "Alex")
Age: 26
Queens, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-228 (S-3) (LDH)

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Updated November 4, 2024