Fugitive High-Ranking MS-13 Leader
Arrested on Terrorism and Racketeering Charges
Thursday, April 20, 2023
Defendant Was a Founding Member of MS-13 Hollywood Clique
in Los Angeles and Elevated to Become One of its
Highest-Ranking Leaders in El Salvador
Earlier today, in federal court in Houston, Jose Wilfredo Ayala-Alcantara, also known as “Indio de Hollywood,”
a high-ranking leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as “MS-13,” was transferred to the Eastern District
of New York where he, together with 12 other high-ranking MS-13 leaders, are charged with directing the
transnational criminal organization’s criminal activities in the United States, El Salvador, Mexico, and elsewhere
over the past two decades. Ayala-Alcantara was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the United States Marshals Service (USMS) on April 18, 2023
when he arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. The day before, Ayala-Alcantara
had been located by Mexican authorities, who determined that he was an El Salvadoran citizen with no valid
status in Mexico. He was expelled from Mexico to El Salvador but arrested while transiting through the
United States. Specifically, Ayala-Alcantara is charged with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to provide
or conceal material support to terrorists, and narco-terrorism conspiracy.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY); Donald Alway,
Assistant Director-in-Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Los Angeles Field Office; Ivan J. Arvelo,
Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI); and John J. Durham,
Director of Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV), announced Ayala-Alcantara’s arrest and initial appearance.
“Jose Wilfredo Ayala-Alcantara’s abominable MS-13 career has come full circle — having joined the transnational
gang when he lived in the United States, he was deported to El Salvador where he ascended to a leadership
position, he is returning to face justice in the Eastern District of New York where MS-13 has wrought so much
violence in our communities,” stated United States Attorney Peace.
“As most Angelenos know too well, MS-13 is a criminal enterprise that has wreaked havoc on communities in
the United States and beyond for decades,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Alway. “The FBI is dedicated
to dismantling this scourge on society and will work with our local and international partners to do so, regardless
of where they hide. There is no safe haven for criminals who do the bidding of transnational gangs.”
“As alleged, Jose Wilfredo Ayala-Alcantara has led a life of violence and crime, which propelled him to a leadership
position within the Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 street gang,” stated HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo.
“Ayala-Alcantara is accused of leading MS-13, directing the gang’s vicious appetite for power through carnage
and bloodshed. HSI New York will exhaust every resource at our disposal to ensure criminals like Ayala-Alcantara
are located and brought to justice. I commend the unified efforts of Homeland Security Investigations New York,
Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Houston, and Mexico City, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation Los Angeles
Field Division for locating and apprehending Ayala-Alcantara.”
“For over two decades, Ayala-Alcantara has been a zealous member and leader of MS-13, who directed violence
and criminal activity across the United States, El Salvador, Mexico, and beyond,” said JTFV Director Durham.
“This arrest marks an important step towards holding Ayala-Alcantara accountable for decades of terrorist and
criminal acts that he and his MS-13 co-conspirators have carried out internationally.”
Ayala-Alcantara’s indictment was unsealed on February 23, 2023, following the arrests of three
of his co-defendants, Vladimir Antonio Arevalo-Chavez, also known as “Vampiro de Monserrat Criminales,”
Walter Yovani Hernandez-Rivera, also known as “Baxter de Park View” and “Bastard de Park View,” and
Marlon Antonio Menjivar-Portillo, also known as “Rojo de Park View,” but he remained a fugitive until earlier
this week. As set forth in court filings, Ayala-Alcantara and his co-defendants are part of MS-13’s command
and control structure, consisting of the Ranfla Nacional, Ranfla en Las Calles, and Ranfla en Los Penales,
and play significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations in El Salvador, Mexico, the United States,
and throughout the world. In total, 27 of the highest-ranking leaders of MS-13 have been charged in this
indictment and the related case of United States v. Henriquez, et al. A grand jury in the Eastern District of New York
previously indicted 14 members of the Ranfla Nacional, who functioned as MS-13’s “Board of Directors.”
As further alleged, Ayala-Alcantara, who was one of the founding members of the Hollywood clique of the
MS-13 in Los Angeles, California, and later rose to become one of the criminal organization’s highest-ranking
leaders, and his co-defendants have engaged in numerous violent terrorist activities aimed at influencing
the government of El Salvador (GOES). The defendants have used terrorist violence to obtain benefits and
concessions from the GOES and to target GOES law enforcement and military officials. The defendants have
actively engaged in public displays of violence to threaten and intimidate civilian populations, to obtain and
control territory and to manipulate the electoral process in El Salvador. Several of these defendants have
played prominent roles in MS-13’s past and current negotiations with the GOES.
Further, these defendants are alleged to have authorized and directed violence in the United States, Mexico,
and elsewhere as part of a concerted effort to expand MS-13’s influence and territorial control. As the leaders
of the MS-13 transnational criminal organization, these defendants were an integral part of the leadership chain
responsible for supervising MS-13 cliques in the United States that engaged in extreme violence, including
numerous murders, attempted murders, assaults, and related offenses. For example, this Office’s Long Island
Criminal Division has prosecuted hundreds of MS-13 leaders, members, and associates for carrying out more
than 65 murders in the Eastern District of New York between 2009 and the present.
Three co-defendants, Jorge Alexander De La Cruz, also known as “Cruger de Peatonales,”
Juan Antonio Martinez-Abrego, also known as “Mary Jane de Hollywood,” and Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales,
also known as “Veterano de Tribus,” remain at large. Members of the public with information concerning their
whereabouts are strongly encouraged to contact the FBI’s toll-free MS-13 tip line, 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713),
or HSI’s tip line at (866) 347-2423 or
https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form. Together, FBI and HSI have
offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the fugitives. Six other
co-defendants, Edwin Ernesto Cedillos-Rodriguez, also known as “Renuente de Abriles Dangers,”
Carlos Tiberio Ramirez-Valladares, also known as “Snayder de Pasadena,” Dany Fredy Ramos-Mejia,
also known as “Cisco de Teclas,” Dany Balmore Romero-Garcia, also known as “Big Boy de Normandies,”
“Dig Boy de Normandies,” and “D Boy de Normandies,” Ruben Antonio Rosa-Lovo, also known as
“Chivo de Centrales,” and Miguel Angel Serrano-Medina, also known as “Cabro de Park View,” are believed
to be in custody in El Salvador.
Since its creation in August 2019, JTFV has successfully implemented a whole-of-government approach to
combatting MS-13, including increasing coordination and collaboration with foreign law enforcement partners,
including El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. JTFV has also identified and targeted for prosecution
the MS-13 programs, cliques and individuals that have had the most violent impact in the United States,
and it has coordinated significant MS-13 indictments in U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including
the first use of national security charges against MS-13 leaders.
JTFV has been comprised of members from U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the EDNY;
the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts;
the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of Virginia; the
Southern District of Florida; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska;
and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the
Criminal Division. In addition, all Department of Justice law enforcement agencies are involved in the effort,
including the FBI; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives; the USMS; and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. In addition, HSI also plays a critical role in JTFV.
Mr. Peace expressed his thanks to the FBI’s Los Angeles, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Houston, and
Newark Field Offices, who spearheaded this investigation, with essential partnership provided by the
Criminal Investigative Division’s Safe Streets Gang Unit, along with HSI’s National Gangs and Violent Crime Unit
and HSI’s New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Houston Field Offices. Additionally, FBI Legal Attachés in
Mexico City and San Salvador, HSI Attaché Mexico City, USMS Legal Attaché in Mexico City, and the
United States Customs and Border Protection Officers at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston
provided critical support in connection with the arrest, as well as the U.S. Attorney's Office and the USMS for
the Southern District of Texas for coordinating the initial appearance in Houston.
Mr. Peace also thanked the numerous Department of Justice components that contributed to this indictment,
including: the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section; the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Forces Executive Office; the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; and the Criminal Division’s
Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training, and Organized Crime and Gangs Section.
In addition, the Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and the
United States Agency for International Development, Office of Inspector General, have provided critical support
for JTFV’s mission.
These charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond
a reasonable doubt in a court of law. If convicted, Ayala-Alcantara faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Donnelly,
Matthew Shepherd, and Stewart M. Young from JTFV, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci, and Megan E. Farrell from the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division.
Quote:Newly Arrested Defendant in U.S. Custody:
JOSE WILFREDO AYALA-ALCANTARA
(also known as “Indio de Hollywood”)
Age: 55
Defendants Previously Arrested and in U.S. Custody:
VLADIMIR ANTONIO AREVALO-CHAVEZ
(also known as “Vampiro de Monserrat Criminales”)
Age: 47
WALTER YOVANI HERNANDEZ-RIVERA
(also known as “Baxter de Park View” and “Bastard de Park View”)
Age: 29
MARLON ANTONIO MENJIVAR-PORTILLO
(also known as “Rojo de Park View”)
Age: 47
Fugitive Defendants:
JORGE ALEXANDER DE LA CRUZ
(also known as “Cruger de Peatonales”)
Age: 45
JUAN ANTONIO MARTINEZ-ABREGO
(also known as “Mary Jane de Hollywood”)
Age: 42
FRANCISCO JAVIER ROMAN-BARDALES
(also known as “Veterano de Tribus”)
Age: 45
Defendants Believed to be in El Salvador Custody:
EDWIN ERNESTO CEDILLOS-RODRIGUEZ
(also known as “Renuente de Abriles Dangers”)
Age: 35
CARLOS TIBERIO RAMIREZ-VALLADARES
(also known as “Snayder de Pasadena”)
Age: UNK
DANY FREDY RAMOS-MEJIA
(also known as “Cisco de Teclas”)
Age: 44
DANY BALMORE ROMERO-GARCIA
(also known as “Big Boy de Normandies,”
“Dig Boy de Normandies,” and
“D Boy de Normandies”)
Age: 48
RUBEN ANTONIO ROSA-LOVO
(also known as “Chivo de Centrales”)
Age: 52
MIGUEL ANGEL SERRANO-MEDINA
(also known as “Cabro de Park View”)
Age: 47
E.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 22-CR-429 (JMA)
[i]Contact
John Marzulli
Danielle Blustein Hass
United States Attorney's Office
(718) 254-6323[/i]
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