Last of six MS-13 members sentenced in major federal racketeering case

Alexandria, Virginia – The last of six La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members was sentenced today. These members were convicted in two separate federal trials for racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, and offenses related to the murders of four men in 2019.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the trials, the six defendants were members of MS-13’s Sitios Locos Salvatrucha clique (STLS), operating in Northern Virginia and beyond for years. From 2017 to 2020, STLS members regularly traveled to and from Long Island, New York, to obtain cocaine from Marvin Menjivar Gutierrez, the STLS leader in the United States. This cocaine was then transported to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to be sold in nightclubs and bars. The profits from these drug sales were used to buy more drugs, weapons, and support other MS-13 members in the U.S. and El Salvador.

“These defendants—members of the violent MS-13 gang—sold drugs to fuel the gang’s business, surveilled and tracked rival gang members, and even murdered innocent victims, all to increase the grip that MS-13 had on the community,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “With today’s sentencing, we are holding these defendants accountable for the havoc they wreaked. The Criminal Division, along with our federal and local law enforcement partners, is committed to combating violent criminal organizations that victimize our communities.”

In the spring of 2019, Menjivar and his second-in-command, Melvin Canales Saldana, ordered members to start committing murders to help junior members rise in rank within MS-13 and enhance STLS’s prestige and control. In June 2019, three MS-13 members, including Cristian Arevalo Arias and Carlos Turcios Villatoro, lured two victims to a wooded area and brutally murdered them by shooting and stabbing. Victim 1 was believed to be a rival gang member, and Victim 2 was killed to eliminate any witnesses to the first murder.

“MS-13 represents a cycle of death in our society that cannot be tolerated and must be eradicated. MS-13 sells the poisons that destroy communities, families, and lives, and uses the profits to purchase the weapons they use to kill our people in the streets,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This is why federal, state, and local law enforcement employ a coordinated, comprehensive, and strategic approach to systematically dismantle these organizations and end their ability to do harm.”

In August 2019, Canales ordered another MS-13 member to provide Arevalo with a firearm so that Arevalo, Manilester Andrade Rivas, and others could find and kill any rival gang member. They encountered and murdered Victim 3 at the Glen Arbor Apartments in Woodbridge, Virginia. In September 2019, Jairo Aguilera Sagastizado traveled from New York and, with two other MS-13 members, spent hours looking for a rival gang member to kill. Unable to find a rival, they murdered Victim 4, who was walking home from a 7-Eleven in Dumfries, Virginia.

“Today’s sentencing is another example of the FBI’s relentless commitment to bringing an end to violent transnational criminal enterprises like MS-13,” said Executive Assistant Director Timothy Langan of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. “If you engage in racketeering in the advancement of distributing narcotics, rest assured that we will not stop until you face the consequences of your actions.”

Multiple MS-13 members and associates pleaded guilty before the trials. The convicted defendants, all Salvadoran nationals, have been sentenced as follows:

• Marvin Menjivar Gutierrez, 32, New York: Multiple life sentences for racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and use of a firearm in a federal violent crime resulting in death.
• Melvin Canales Saldana, 32, New York: Multiple life sentences for similar charges as Menjivar.
• Cristian Arevalo Arias, 28, Virginia: Multiple life sentences for racketeering conspiracy, two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, and related charges.
• Carlos Turcios Villatoro, 26, Maryland: Multiple life sentences for similar charges as Arias.
• Jairo Aguilera Sagastizado, 28, New York: Multiple life sentences for racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and related charges.
• Manilester Andrade Rivas, 34, Virginia: 14 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy and related charges.

The FBI and Prince William County Police Department investigated the case, with significant assistance from various other law enforcement agencies. The prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation, Operation City of Bridges, aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations.

The sentences handed down to these MS-13 members mark a significant step in the ongoing battle against violent gangs that terrorize communities across the United States. Through coordinated efforts between federal, state, and local law enforcement, justice has been served for the victims and their families, and a strong message has been sent to those who engage in such heinous activities.