Eight individuals from El Salvador, identified as members of the MS-13 gang and residing illegally in Houston, have pleaded guilty to charges related to a racketeering conspiracy that included multiple murders and acts of witness tampering. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The defendants include Walter Antonio Chicas-Garcia (Mejia), Wilson Jose Ventura-Mejia (Discreto), Miguel Angel Aguilar-Ochoa (Darki), Marlon Miranda-Moran (Chinki), Luis Ernesto Carbajal-Peraza (Destino), Edgardo Martinez-Rodriguez (Largo), Carlos Alexi Garcia-Gongora (Garcia), and Wilman Rivas-Guido (Inquieto). All have admitted their involvement in a criminal enterprise responsible for several violent crimes around Houston between 2017 and 2018.
“This case demonstrates the tremendous public safety threat that MS-13 and other criminal terrorist organizations pose to American communities,” said Ganjei. “Here, defendants carried out a series of murders - bludgeoning, butchering, and strangling their victims with sadistic glee. These are people without remorse or pity. When it comes to eradicating these gangs, the United States cannot afford to either relent or fail. As the facts of this case show, the stakes are too high.”
“These defendants carried out brutal murders in the name of MS-13, killing victims with machetes, baseball bats and their bare hands, and then sending photos of the victims’ bodies to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendants committed these unthinkable acts to maintain their status in a gang that spread fear in local neighborhoods and targeted those brave enough to cooperate with law enforcement. Today’s guilty pleas send a powerful message that the Justice Department will aggressively pursue and hold accountable MS-13 members who use violence and murder to terrorize our communities.”
Court documents indicate that MS-13 is involved in various violent crimes across states including Texas, Virginia, Maryland, New York, and California. The organization has significant operations internationally as well.
All eight individuals admitted they were part of an enterprise engaged in murder, extortion, drug trafficking, robbery, and obstruction of justice under orders from higher-ranking leaders based in El Salvador.
Sentencing agreements stipulate that Chicas-Garcia, Ventura-Mejia, and Aguilar-Ochoa will each serve 50 years; Miranda-Moran faces 35 years; Martinez-Rodriguez, Garcia-Gongora, and Rivas-Guido agreed to terms ranging from 45–50 years; Carbajal-Peraza is expected to receive between 40–45 years.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown accepted the pleas with sentencing scheduled for November after consideration of guidelines.
Multiple agencies participated in investigating this case: FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; police departments from Houston and Galveston as well as Prince George’s County in Maryland; sheriff’s offices from Harris and Liberty counties; Texas Department of Public Safety; University of North Texas Center for Human Identification; U.S. Marshals Service; Texas Office of the Attorney General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Keri Fuller along with Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Britni Verdeja are prosecuting alongside Trial Attorney César S. Rivera-Giraud from the Justice Department’s Violent Crime section.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative using resources across federal law enforcement programs aimed at countering illegal immigration networks and transnational crime groups while safeguarding communities through collaboration among organized crime task forces.
