The violent MS-13 gang, based in El Salvador, has murdered more than 65 residents in Long Island, New York, since 2009, a figure published by the Department of Justice (DOJ) reveals.
Last week, federal prosecutors announced that three high-ranking MS-13 gang members — Vladimir Antonio Arevalo-Chavez, Walter Yovani Hernandez-Rivera, and Marlon Antonio Menjivar-Portillo — were arrested in Mexico and subsequently sent to the United States to face charges.
In total, 13 MS-13 gang members are charged in the case, including six who are believed to be in police custody in El Salvador and four others who remain at large in Mexico.
As part of the unsealed four-count indictment, federal prosecutors revealed that MS-13 gang members are responsible for more than 65 murders in Long Island since 2009. The figure indicates that the gang is carrying out five murders a year in Long Island communities, alone.
Family and friends say goodbye to Justin Llivicura at his burial in a cemetery on April 19, 2017 in Coram, Long Island, New York. Justin, a sixteen-year-old high school student, was one of four teenagers murdered in a park in Central Islip in what many suspect to be a gang attack by members of MS-13. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Family and friends say goodbye to Justin Llivicura at his burial in a cemetery on April 19, 2017 in Coram, Long Island, New York. Justin, a sixteen-year-old high school student, was one of four teenagers murdered in a park in Central Islip in what many suspect to be a gang attack by members of MS-13. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Family and friends say goodbye to Justin Llivicura at his burial in a cemetery on April 19, 2017 in Coram, Long Island, New York. Justin, a sixteen-year-old high school student, was one of four teenagers murdered in a park in Central Islip in what many suspect to be a gang attack by members of MS-13. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
According to federal prosecutors, the 13 MS-13 gang members represent the “command and control structure” of the organization that includes orchestrating “violent terrorist activities” in El Salvador to influence the government, intimidate the civilian population, and manipulate the country’s elections.
Most significantly, the members are accused of authorizing and directing violence across the U.S., as well as Mexico and other countries, including countless murders.
“The relentless and heroic efforts of law enforcement here and in Central America are systemically dismantling the MS-13 [from] the very top to bottom,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York said. “We will not stop until this transnational gang and its leaders are held accountable for the extreme violence they have inflicted on our district, the United States, and the countries where this scourge is based.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.