There are now eight members of MS-13 who pleaded guilty in Houston, Texas, to roles in a racketeering conspiracy.
The criminal schemes involved murders and witness tampering, according to a report from KRIV-TV.
Walter Antonio Chicas-Garcia, Wilson Jose Ventura-Mejia, Miguel Angel Aguilar-Ochoa, and Marlon Miranda-Moran all entered their plea deals on Tuesday.
Nearly a month earlier, on Aug. 11, Luis Ernesto Carbajal-Peraza, Edgardo Martinez-Rodriguez, Carlos Alexi Garcia-Gongora, and Wilman Rivas-Guido admitted to their own roles.
All eight criminals have previously admitted their involvement with MS-13, a Latin American gang that originated in El Salvador.
Three high-level MS-13 gang members plead guilty to 50-year sentences in large-scale racketeering conspiracy involving murder and other violent crimes#HouNews #Galveston #OperationTakeBackAmerica https://t.co/1WV4bqQQA2 pic.twitter.com/ouYZ5umfgG
— US Attorney SDTX (@USAO_SDTX) September 8, 2025
They have previously been charged with murder, extortion, drug trafficking, robbery, and obstruction of justice, per KRIV.
U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei celebrated the guilty pleas from the MS-13 gang members in a Sept. 8 statement from the Justice Department.
“This case demonstrates the tremendous public safety threat that MS-13 and other criminal terrorist organizations pose to American communities,” Ganjei said.
“Here, defendants carried out a series of murders — bludgeoning, butchering, and strangling their victims with sadistic glee. These are people without remorse or pity,” he continued.
“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.”
According to the Justice Department, at least some of the MS-13 members allegedly carried out murders in the conspiracy between 2017 and 2018 after receiving orders from senior members of the gang back in El Salvador.
“MS-13 members participated in the murders to increase or maintain their own position within MS-13’s ranks,” the agency said.
‘With sadistic glee’: High-level MS-13 members will spend decades behind bars for ‘butchering’ informants and rivals https://t.co/ioJNRj5Nyp
— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) September 9, 2025
“MS-13 targeted the murder victims because they were believed to be members of rival gangs, cooperating with law enforcement or working against MS-13’s interests,” the statement added. “MS-13 members committed the murders using machetes, a baseball bat and strangling.”
When they were finished murdering their victims, the MS-13 members allegedly “sent photos of the victims’ bodies to high-ranking MS-13 members in El Salvador, sometimes further mutilating or dismembering the victim’s bodies before sending the photos,” the Justice Department added.
President Donald Trump has prioritized deporting criminal illegal aliens during his second term, especially focusing on those who have committed violent crime.
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