Five Alleged MS-13 Members Charged Federally for Their Participation in a Violent Racketeering Conspiracy Including Eight Murders and Four Attempted Murders

A federal grand jury returned an eleventh superseding indictment Monday, charging five men in connection with a conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.  The eleventh superseding indictment adds a new defendant charged with a racketeering conspiracy related to his membership in MS-13, including a double homicide and drug trafficking.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge John Eisert of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Jesse R. Fong of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Field Division; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief Amal Awad of the City of Hyattsville Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy made the announcement.

Charged in the 10-count superseding indictment are Junior Noe Alvarado-Requeno, aka “Insolente,” aka “Trankilo,” 23, of Landover, Maryland; Luis Arnoldo Flores-Reyes, aka “Maloso,” aka “Lobo,” 39, of Arlington, Virginia; Miguel Angel Corea Diaz, aka “Reaper,” 40, of Long Branch, New Jersey; Jairo Arnaldo Jacome, aka “Abuelo,” 38, of Langley Park, Maryland; and Brayan Alexander Contreras-Avalos, aka “Anonimo,” aka “Malia,” and aka “Humilde,” 20, of Silver Spring, Maryland.

MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Maryland, including in Montgomery County and Prince George’s County, Maryland.

At all times during the conspiracy, members of MS-13 were expected to protect the name, reputation, and status of the gang from rival gang members and other persons.  To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members were expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who showed disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence.  MS-13 had mottos consistent with its rules, beliefs, expectations, and reputation including “mata, viola, controla,” which translates as, “kill, rape, control,” and “ver, oir y callar,” which means, “see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing.”

MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang, as well as against rival gang members.  Participation in criminal activity by a member, particularly in violent acts directed at rival gangs or as directed by gang leadership, increase the respect accorded to that member, resulting in that member maintaining or increasing his position in the gang, and opens the door to a promotion to a leadership position.  One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, often referred to as “chavalas,” whenever possible. 

The eleventh superseding indictment alleges that from prior to 2015 through at least January 2018, the defendants, as members and associates of MS-13, engaged in a racketeering conspiracy that included extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and robbery.  Jacome is an alleged member and associate of the Langley Park Salvatrucha Clique of MS-13.  All other defendants are alleged members and associates of the Sailors Clique of MS-13. 

All the defendants except Contreras-Avalos were charged in previous indictments with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise related to their involvement in a variety of violent acts committed by the Sailors Clique of MS-13, including multiple murders.

The eleventh superseding indictment adds Contreras-Avalos as an additional defendant and references his alleged involvement in the 2016 murders of two victims who were believed to be members of the rival 18^th Street gang.

Specifically, the eleventh superseding indictment charges that in June 2016, Alvarado-Requeno and other high-ranking MS-13 members planned with and directed other members and associates of MS-13 to search for and murder gang rivals known as “chavalas” in and around Hyattsville, Maryland.  On June 8, 2016, Alvarado-Requeno allegedly directed Contreras-Avalos and lower-ranking members of MS-13 to murder two individuals who were believed to be members of the rival 18th Street gang.  Pursuant to this plan and as directed by Alvarado-Requeno, Contreras-Avalos and other MS-13 members and associates allegedly stabbed the two victims to death.

Alvarado-Requeno and Jacome also are charged in the 2016 murder of a victim in Germantown, Maryland.  On Dec. 4, 2016, Alvarado-Requeno, Jacome, and other members and associates of MS-13 allegedly traveled to Germantown with a machete and other weapons for the purpose of murdering an individual as punishment for his infractions against the gang.  They allegedly stabbed the victim to death, then fled the area leaving the victim’s body near a creek.  The next day, Jacome and other members and associates of MS-13 allegedly returned to Germantown to bury the victim’s body.

Alvarado-Requeno, Flores-Reyes, and Corea-Diaz also are charged in the 2017 murder of a victim in Lynchburg, Virginia.  On March 27, 2017, Alvarado-Requeno, Flores-Reyes, and Corea-Diaz allegedly arranged for members and associates of the Sailors Clique to travel from Maryland to Lynchburg for the purpose of murdering an individual in the Lynchburg area.  Flores-Reyes allegedly provided the vehicle in which the members and associates drove and called them to provide encouragement to murder the victim.  The victim was murdered that same day in Bedford County, Virginia.  On March 27 and March 28, 2017, multiple individuals were arrested in connection with the murder.  Alvarado-Requeno, Flores-Reyes, and Corea-Diaz made phone calls on those dates trying to locate the individuals who had traveled to Virginia to commit the murder.  Two of the participants in the murder escaped from Bedford County and were hidden in Maryland by members and associates of the Sailors Clique.

All defendants are in custody.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The Justice Department thanked the FBI’s Washington and Baltimore Field Offices, HSI Baltimore, the DEA Washington Field Office, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s State’s Attorney’s Office, the Hyattsville Police Department, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation.  Trial Attorney Julie A. Finocchiaro of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau and Catherine K. Dick are prosecuting this case.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.