Latest news with #MaraSalvatrucha-13
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Confidential Informant Whacked by MS-13 in South L.A. While on Phone with FBI Handler
Three members of the Mara Salvatrucha-13 transnational street gang – one of them an illegal alien from El Salvador – have been hit with federal charges for carrying out a "greenlight," or murder contract on one of their own who flipped and was working for the FBI, a cold-blooded assassination that was heard live by the informant's Anaya Urias, 26, of South Los Angeles, and Grevil Zelaya Santiago, 25, of South Los Angeles, are charged via federal complaint with murder in aid of racketeering, a felony that carries a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison and a possible death sentence. Roberto Carlos Aguilar, 30, of South Los Angeles, is charged in a separate federal criminal complaint with murder in aid of racketeering, prosecutors say. The murder of Herlyn Barrientos, 47, who had been caught up in massive federal sweep targeting MS-13 meth dealers in 2023 and then began cooperating with the government, took place on February 18. When Barrientos was released from prison he began informing on members of his clique, which meant his "status as a government cooperator was well known by MS-13," prosecutors say. The notoriously savage gang reserves its most brutal bloodletting for informants, which is why Barrientos was terrified when he ran into his former criminal compatriots, Urias and Santiago, at a South Los Angeles grocery store. Barrientos was being hunted by the gang, another MS-13 member who agreed to cooperate with the FBI, and that the "greenlight" had been issued against Barrientos upon his release from prison, a clear indicator that he had struck a deal. Orders had been given to that MS-13 member to: "clean out my garbage, you understand?''That work you cannot say no to,' the gang member added, according to the FBI affidavit. MS-13 would get a chance to carry out that hit around 7 p.m. on Feb. 18 when Barrientos pulled into Superior Grocers at Figueroa and 91st Streets in South L.A. and went three men confronted Barrientos, who was wearing a court-ordered ankle bracelet, in the produce section. Words were exchanged, the men walked off, according to the affidavit, and a panicked Barrientos first called 911 saying he had been confronted, telling the dispatcher: the man who had the pistol was about 20 years old, dressed in all black, with a handkerchief covering his face; and a second Latino man with long hair was also armed. Then he called his FBI handler, who heard the rat-a-tat of gunfire while his informant was on the phone. The other end went silent and the FBI agent stayed on the line calling Barrientos name until he heard the distant tone of police sirens."I heard through the telephone several gunshots and H.B. stopped responding to me. Soon after, I heard what sounded like police and emergency medical services arriving at H.B.'s location," the agent wrote. The death of an informant desperately calling for help strikes at the heart of law enforcement, especially one providing information on the deadly transnational gang MS-13. "During the evening of February 18, the victim made two telephone calls to authorities and said he was at a grocery store in South Los Angeles where MS-13 members had just tried to kill him," prosecutors concede. "He said he had been talking with MS-13 members when a man whose face was covered approached and tried to shoot him, but the gun did not fire.""At one point during the second telephone call, several gunshots were heard," by the FBI agent, prosecutors say. Carrying out a greenlight, especially against an informant, elevated the standing of the alleged hitmen, Aguilar, Urias and Santiago, according to court documents. MS-13 was formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s, and the street gang is now comprised of tens of thousands of individuals in at least 10 states and several Central American countries, most notably El Salvador. In the mid-1990s, Mara Salvatrucha became associated with the Mexican Mafia and added the number 13 to its name. As MS-13's numbers swelled in Los Angeles and El Salvador, MS-13 members also traveled to, and settled in, other cities and areas in the United States, including New York, Virginia, Maryland, and Texas," federal prosecutors say. There have been major takedowns of the gang, including an infiltration by a cooperating informant in Boston that led to arrests at the gang's highest levels, and an active greenlight that includes the witness, his wife, and young baby. But the gang continues to flourish in southern California. The alleged MS-13 hitmen accused of assassinating Barrientos are being held without bail and will be back in a federal courtroom on June 3.
Epoch Times
19-05-2025
- Epoch Times
3 MS-13 Members Charged in Murder of Former Member-Turned-Informant
Three members of the Mara Salvatrucha-13 (MS-13) transnational street gang were charged in the murder of a former MS-13 gang member who was cooperating with law enforcement on a federal racketeering and drug trafficking case, federal prosecutors announced on May 16. One of the defendants, Roberto Carlos Aguilar, is an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. Aguilar, 30, of South Los Angeles, was charged in a separate federal complaint with murder in aid of racketeering. The other two defendants, Dennis Anaya Urias, 26, and Grevil Zelaya Santiago, 25, both of South Los Angeles, were Urias is a legal permanent resident, and Santiago had filed a visa application, which was pending. All three defendants made their first court appearance late on Thursday in the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, according to federal prosecutors. Related Stories 4/7/2021 11/28/2018 A federal magistrate judge has ordered them detained without bond and has scheduled their arraignments for June 3. 'These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,' the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said in a statement on Friday. According to court documents, Urias and Santiago allegedly shot the victim to death at a grocery store in South Los Angeles on Feb. 18. The victim's status as a government cooperator was well known by the MS-13 gang. Federal prosecutors say this status made the victim subject to a 'green light' order that made him a target for murder by MS-13 members. Court documents claim that Urias had what appeared to be a chance encounter with Aguilar inside the grocery store about an hour before the victim's death. After the encounter, Aguilar allegedly set in motion a series of events that led to Urias and Santiago allegedly shooting and killing the victim, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported. On Feb. 18, the victim made two telephone calls to authorities and said he was at a grocery store in South Los Angeles where MS-13 members had just tried to kill him, according to prosecutors. He told authorities he had been talking with MS-13 members when a man, whose face was covered, approached and tried to shoot him, but the gun did not fire, prosecutors claimed. At one point during the second phone call, several gunshots were heard, officials said. Prosecutors claim that Aguilar, Urias, and Santiago allegedly avoided discipline or enhanced their status within the gang by murdering the victim. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating the case.
