Latest news with #MS-13
Toronto Star
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
An MS-13 leader is sentenced to 68 years in racketeering case involving 8 murders
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — The leader of an MS-13 clique in the suburbs of New York City was sentenced Wednesday to 68 years in prison in a federal racketeering case involving eight murders, including the 2016 killings of two high school girls that focused the nation's attention on the violent Central American street gang. Alexi Saenz pleaded guilty last year for his role in ordering and approving the killings as well as other crimes during a rash of bloody violence that prompted President Donald Trump to make several visits to Long Island and call for the death penalty for Saenz and other gang members during his first term in the White House.
18 hours ago
- Politics
MS-13 leader to be sentenced in racketeering case involving 8 murders
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. -- The leader of an MS-13 clique in the suburbs of New York City faces sentencing Wednesday in a federal racketeering case involving eight murders, including the 2016 killings of two high school girls that focused the nation's attention on the violent Central American street gang. Alexi Saenz pleaded guilty last year for his role in ordering and approving the killings as well as other crimes during a rash of bloody violence that prompted President Donald Trump to make several visits to Long Island and call for the death penalty for Saenz and other gang members during his first term in the White House. Saenz's lawyers are seeking a sentence of 45 years behind bars, but prosecutors want the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 70 years. Prosecutors, who previously withdrew their intent to seek the death penalty, say Saenz deserves to live out his days in prison for his 'senseless' and 'sadistic' crimes. 'The eight victims who lost their lives did nothing to deserve what the MS-13 did to them,' they wrote in legal filings ahead of Wednesday's hearing. 'The defendant and the others killed them in service of the gang without remorse or any regard for them as human beings.' But Saenz's lawyers have argued for leniency, saying in their own legal filings that the now-30-year-old is remorseful and 'on a journey of redemption' while incarcerated. "With the passage of time and much reflection, it is hard for Mr. Saenz to reconcile the person he is today with the person he was when he committed the crimes," their sentencing memo reads. 'He is profoundly sorry, and although he knows the families may not accept his apology, it is sincere, and he accepts full responsibility for his participation in these crimes.' Saenz's lawyers also say he suffers from intellectual disabilities and lasting trauma from an abusive father and difficult upbringing in El Salvador. They say Saenz was recruited and unwittingly 'groomed' into MS-13 because he was an 'easily influenced' and 'gullible' high school student on Long Island. Prosecutors, however, counter that Saenz has remained 'firmly entrenched' in MS-13 while in a federal lockup in Brooklyn for the past eight years. They cited photos of him posing with other gang members behind bars and displaying gang signs and gang paraphernalia. They also say Saenz has been disciplined for assaulting other inmates, refusing staff orders and possessing sharpened metal shanks, cellphones and other contraband. 'Indeed, the same pattern of violence and mayhem that has marked his life on the street has not waned with the passage of time,' prosecutors wrote. Saenz, also known as 'Blasty' and 'Big Homie,' was the leader of an MS-13 clique operating in Brentwood and Central Islip known as Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside. He admitted last July that he'd authorized the eight killings and three other attempted killings of perceived rivals and others that had disrespected or feuded with the clique. Saenz also admitted to arson, firearms offenses and drug trafficking — the proceeds of which went toward buying firearms, more drugs and providing contributions to the wider MS-13 gang. Among the killings Saenz oversaw were the deaths of Kayla Cuevas, 16, and Nisa Mickens, 15, lifelong friends and classmates at Brentwood High School who were slain with a machete and a baseball bat. Other victims included Javier Castillo, 15, of Central Islip, who was befriended by gang members only to be cut down with a machete in an isolated marsh. Another victim, Oscar Acosta, 19, was found dead in a wooded area near railroad tracks nearly five months after he left his Brentwood home to play soccer. MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is a transnational criminal organization believed to have been founded as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s by people fleeing civil war in El Salvador.
Winnipeg Free Press
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
MS-13 leader to be sentenced in racketeering case involving 8 murders
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — The leader of an MS-13 clique in the suburbs of New York City faces sentencing Wednesday in a federal racketeering case involving eight murders, including the 2016 killings of two high school girls that focused the nation's attention on the violent Central American street gang. Alexi Saenz pleaded guilty last year for his role in ordering and approving the killings as well as other crimes during a rash of bloody violence that prompted President Donald Trump to make several visits to Long Island and call for the death penalty for Saenz and other gang members during his first term in the White House. Saenz's lawyers are seeking a sentence of 45 years behind bars, but prosecutors want the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 70 years. Prosecutors, who previously withdrew their intent to seek the death penalty, say Saenz deserves to live out his days in prison for his 'senseless' and 'sadistic' crimes. 'The eight victims who lost their lives did nothing to deserve what the MS-13 did to them,' they wrote in legal filings ahead of Wednesday's hearing. 'The defendant and the others killed them in service of the gang without remorse or any regard for them as human beings.' But Saenz's lawyers have argued for leniency, saying in their own legal filings that the now-30-year-old is remorseful and 'on a journey of redemption' while incarcerated. 'With the passage of time and much reflection, it is hard for Mr. Saenz to reconcile the person he is today with the person he was when he committed the crimes,' their sentencing memo reads. 'He is profoundly sorry, and although he knows the families may not accept his apology, it is sincere, and he accepts full responsibility for his participation in these crimes.' Saenz's lawyers also say he suffers from intellectual disabilities and lasting trauma from an abusive father and difficult upbringing in El Salvador. They say Saenz was recruited and unwittingly 'groomed' into MS-13 because he was an 'easily influenced' and 'gullible' high school student on Long Island. Prosecutors, however, counter that Saenz has remained 'firmly entrenched' in MS-13 while in a federal lockup in Brooklyn for the past eight years. They cited photos of him posing with other gang members behind bars and displaying gang signs and gang paraphernalia. They also say Saenz has been disciplined for assaulting other inmates, refusing staff orders and possessing sharpened metal shanks, cellphones and other contraband. 'Indeed, the same pattern of violence and mayhem that has marked his life on the street has not waned with the passage of time,' prosecutors wrote. Saenz, also known as 'Blasty' and 'Big Homie,' was the leader of an MS-13 clique operating in Brentwood and Central Islip known as Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside. He admitted last July that he'd authorized the eight killings and three other attempted killings of perceived rivals and others that had disrespected or feuded with the clique. Saenz also admitted to arson, firearms offenses and drug trafficking — the proceeds of which went toward buying firearms, more drugs and providing contributions to the wider MS-13 gang. Among the killings Saenz oversaw were the deaths of Kayla Cuevas, 16, and Nisa Mickens, 15, lifelong friends and classmates at Brentwood High School who were slain with a machete and a baseball bat. Other victims included Javier Castillo, 15, of Central Islip, who was befriended by gang members only to be cut down with a machete in an isolated marsh. Another victim, Oscar Acosta, 19, was found dead in a wooded area near railroad tracks nearly five months after he left his Brentwood home to play soccer. MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is a transnational criminal organization believed to have been founded as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s by people fleeing civil war in El Salvador. ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at
Newsweek
a day ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
The Charges Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia Collapsed in Court. Next Should Come Consequences
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. People interested in law and order in the United States are looking the wrong way. It's not the Supreme Court ending nationwide injunctions last week that should disturb us. It's the implosion of the Department of Justice's case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The loss of nationwide injunctions will be followed by a tidal wave of class actions that will ultimately take the place of the individual suits, yet have the same national impact that the Court has just outlawed. Don't worry. The Supreme Court hasn't set the sky to falling. A protester holds a photo of Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia as demonstrators gather to protest against the deportation of immigrants to El Salvador outside the Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations... A protester holds a photo of Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia as demonstrators gather to protest against the deportation of immigrants to El Salvador outside the Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations on April 24, 2025, in New York City. More Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images But the Abrego Garcia struggle is over the soul of American justice. Under pressure, the Justice Department obeyed a court order to return him from El Salvador. But then the DOJ leadership doubled down on dumbness. It filed an indictment against Abrego Garcia with Attorney General Pam Bondi promising to prove he was a key figure in an alien smuggling ring. Justice Department lawyers asserted that Abrego Garcia was an MS-13 gang member who transported guns, and sexually abused migrant women. Last week the case fell apart. The Justice Department used all the evidence it had to try to keep Abrego Garcia in prison pending a trial. A federal magistrate judge in Tennessee listened and then wrote a detailed and damning decision—ordering him released pending trial. It turns out that the only support for the government claim that Abrego Garcia was a key figure in a gang-related adult and child smuggling ring comes from three people who are close relatives of one another and are facing deportation. Two of them are expecting to stop their deportations in exchange for testifying, and their ringleader—a five-times deported and twice-convicted felon who admits smuggling aliens—has already been sprung from jail by the Justice Department and had his deportation stopped. Despite their incentives to help Bondi, these three contradicted each other about Abrego Garcia's supposed membership in the MS-13 gang. One just said Abrego Garcia was "familial" with gang members. Another said, without taking an oath, that she "believed" Abrego Garcia was a gang member. The final witness suggested the opposite, noting that "there were no signs or markings, including tattoos, indicating that Abrego is an MS-13 member." These cooperating but clumsy cons also preposterously reported that Abrego Garcia's smuggling involved driving 2,900 miles three or four times per week—over 120 hours at the wheel weekly—a figure almost physically impossible. The government didn't even have the courage to bring its sole supporters to court where Abrego Garcia's lawyers might have cross-examined them. An ICE agent read their statements instead. No wonder the Tennessee magistrate judge, backed up by her supervising judge, ordered Abrego Garcia released. Foolishly, the DOJ leadership then proved that it wasn't done ruining its reputation. After a ruling finding no credible evidence that Abrego Garcia smuggled anyone and which noted he had been charged with "smuggling" not "trafficking" a DOJ spokesperson declared that Abrego Garcia "has been charged with horrific crimes, including trafficking children, and will not walk free in our country again." DOJ now insists that, if released, Abrego Garcia won't be arrested and deported immediately. Wisely, Abrego Garcia decided to stay in jail. The DOJ exit strategy? Ultimately, it will drop the frivolous charges. They will then try to deport Abrego Garcia to somewhere like Somalia. But that shouldn't be the end of the story. The DOJ lawyers who want to follow the law must win out against those willing to violate it. They know the department once enjoyed the highest reputation. It stood up to Richard Nixon, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden alike, but now its struggling. To rescue it, the courts must punish Pam Bondi and those who have maliciously prosecuted Abrego Garcia. Bondi ordered the prosecution. Two lawyers signed the indictment papers filed in court. After the charges are dismissed, the Tennessee judge should summon all three of them to court to show cause why they shouldn't be disciplined under ethical rules forbidding frivolous filings. Commenting on the charges against Abrego Garcia when she announced them, Bondi trumpeted about this train wreck, "This is what American justice looks like." Here's hoping she's wrong and that judges prove it to her. Thomas G. Moukawsher is a former Connecticut complex litigation judge and a former co-chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Employee Benefits. He is the author of the book, The Common Flaw: Needless Complexity in the Courts and 50 Ways to Reduce It. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump's Task Force Sought to Clear an MS-13 Leader While Pursuing Abrego Garcia
For nearly six years, Task Force Vulcan, a federal law enforcement team set up by President Trump during his first term in the White House, was enormously successful in pursuing its central mission: taking down the leadership of the violent transnational street gang MS-13. But by this spring, the group was redirected into carrying out what appeared to be contradictory goals. The unit's agents and prosecutors were asked to unwind some of the charges they had brought against MS-13's highest-ranking leaders even as they diverted resources into prosecuting a defendant whose ties to the gang were far more tenuous but whose case had become a political liability for the Trump administration. In late April, Vulcan prosecutors were engaged in a pitched legal battle to dismiss the criminal case against an MS-13 leader named Vladimir Arévalo Chávez who was accused of serious crimes, including multiple murders. The goal was to release Mr. Arévalo from U.S. custody and send him back to his homeland in El Salvador. At the same time, the Vulcan team was assembling a criminal case against Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man accused of belonging to the gang who had been wrongly deported to El Salvador. Prosecutors were seeking to free Mr. Abrego Garcia from Salvadoran custody and bring him back to the United States to face indictment on charges of smuggling undocumented immigrants. By any measure, the task force's split-screen mission was unusual as Vulcan team members unraveled indictments against some of the most senior members of MS-13 even as they began to build one against Mr. Abrego Garcia — a man who, according to the charges that were ultimately filed, appeared to be a midlevel functionary in the gang. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
