Two MS-13 Leaders Convicted of Racketeering Conspiracy and Conspiring to Commit Multiple Murders
Greenbelt, Md., – A federal jury convicted El Salvadorian nationals Junior Noe Alvarado-Requeno, a/k/a “Insolente” and “Trankilo,” age 24, of Landover, Maryland, and Miguel Angel Corea Diaz, a/k/a “Reaper,” age 41, of Long Branch, New Jersey yesterday for conspiring to participate in La Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal enterprise also known as MS-13. Alvarado-Requeno was also convicted of three counts each of murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine. Corea Diaz was also convicted of one count each of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and murder in aid of racketeering; conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, cocaine, and heroin; and possession with intent to distribute heroin.
The convictions were announced by Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division; United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce A. Smith; Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D'Antuono, of the FBI Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore Office; Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Bedford County (VA) Sheriff Michael W. Miller.
MS-13 is a transnational 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 Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County, Maryland.
According to the evidence presented at the four-week trial, between 2015 and 2018, Alvarado-Requeno and Corea Diaz controlled and operated the Sailors Locos Salvatruchos Westside (S.L.S.W. or “Sailors”) Clique through a pattern of racketeering activity, which included murder, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, and witness tampering. Evidence showed that the gang ran a protection scheme in and around its home base in Langley Park, Maryland, and extorted local businesses by charging them “rent” for the privilege of operating in MS-13 “territory.” The gang also trafficked in illegal drugs, including marijuana, heroin, and cocaine. A large share of the proceeds of the gang’s illegal activities was sent to gang leadership in El Salvador to further promote the goals of the gang, using structured transactions and intermediaries to avoid law enforcement scrutiny.
The Sailors Clique committed acts of violence against suspected rival gang members, as well as against its own membership for breaking gang rules. In June 2016, Alvarado-Requeno ordered members of the Sailors Clique to murder a suspected rival in the woods at Malcolm King Park in Gaithersburg. Luring him with the promise of sex with a female MS-13 associate, the gang members ambushed the teenaged victim and stabbed him 153 times. In fact, the victim did not belong to any gang.
In March 2017, a member of the Sailors Clique who was hiding from law enforcement in the Lynchburg, Virginia area had a dispute with a local high school student over marijuana. In response, Alvarado-Requeno and Corea-Diaz organized a squad of MS-13 members to drive down to Lynchburg and murder the high schooler. The gang members kidnapped the student from his front lawn and cut his hand off before killing him. After the murder, Alvarado-Requeno and Corea Diaz helped to hide and protect the killers who escaped the scene from law enforcement.
Among the most important rules of MS-13 is the prohibition against talking to law enforcement, embodied by the maxim ver, oir, y callar – see, hear, and say nothing. The gang enforced this rule by placing a “green light” – an order to kill – on any member of MS-13 who was thought to be informing on the gang. In December 2016, Alvarado-Requeno directed and participated in the murder of a 14-year-old member of MS-13 who was suspected of talking to the police. The boy’s remains were discovered eighteen months later in the woods outside of Germantown, Maryland.
The jury made special findings beyond a reasonable doubt that as part of the racketeering conspiracy Alvarado-Requeno murdered two other individuals and as part of the racketeering conspiracy Correa Diaz conspired to murder a third person.
Alvarado-Requeno and Corea-Diaz each face mandatory sentences of life imprisonment. Anyone with information about MS-13 is encouraged to provide their tips to law enforcement. T at 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or 1-866-DHS-2-ICE. This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.
SAC Forget commended the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, HSI, the DEA Washington and Buffalo Field Divisions, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Bedford County Sherriff’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney's Office of Maryland for their work in the investigation and prosecution.
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