Finally Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) is going down and they're being taken down by the same statute that took down the mafia. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) act

The groups were operating out of Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Their activities included such past times as assaults, murders, rapes, kidnappings, robberies, witness tampering and obstruction of justice using such time honored things as guns, baseball bats, machetes, bottles and knives.

In this single RICO case 26 defendants have been charged, 12 have been convicted and 7 have been sentenced so far.

FSM

A federal jury convicted Jose Hipolito Cruz Diaz, a.k.a “Pirana,” 28, of Lanham, Md.; Omar Vasquez, a.k.a “Duke,” 28; and Henry Zelaya, 20, of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving murder, robbery, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein for the District of Maryland and Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday.

Vasquez and Diaz were also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.

“Joining MS-13 is a ticket to federal prison. Forty-one alleged MS-13 gang members have been charged with federal crimes in Maryland.” Stated U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.

Let's take a little look at some of their activities.

Henry Zelaya (scheduled for sentencing July 6, 2007)

Trial testimony showed that Zelaya, leader of the MS-13 Teclas Locos Salvatruchos (TLS) clique, murdered Noel Gudiel, a rival gang member, on April 20, 2003 in Langley Park, Md. Zelaya and other MS-13 members sexually assaulted two juvenile females at a “skipping party” on May 12, 2003. Zelaya and MS-13 member Walter Noel Barahona assaulted a rival gang member on Oct. 21, 2003

Zelaya also controlled the gang from prison through messages directing other actions while he was locked up.

Hipolito "Pirana" Cruz Diaz and Omar "Duke"Vasquez
(Diaz is scheduled for sentencing August 6, 2007 and Vasquez for August 10, 2007)

Witnesses testified that Diaz was the leader of the Sailors Locos Salvatruchos Westside (SLSW) clique in Washington, D.C. Vasquez was sent from El Salvador to operate all the cliques in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. On Jan. 21, 2005 Vasquez, Diaz and other MS-13 members drove to an apartment building in Fairfax, Virginia to look for rival gang members. Two MS-13 members shot at the crowd of youths sitting outside the building, murdering one juvenile male and injuring two other juveniles

Their successes are mounting and hopefully it will make these gangs too weak to continue.

Seven defendants, all of Maryland, have pleaded guilty, including Barahona, age 23, of Hyattsville, who was sentenced on April 16, 2007 to 14 years in prison; Ronaldo Diaz Vasquez, age 26, of Wheaton, who was sentenced on April 2, 2007 to nine years in prison; Franklin Mejia Molina, age 23, of Silver Spring, who was sentenced on December 4, 2006 to over 9 years (114 months) in prison; and Juan Lopez, age 21, of Riverdale, who was sentenced on October 16, 2006 to 87 months in prison, all for racketeering conspiracy. Jose Pena Aguilar, age 25, of Beltsville, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on November 6, 2006 for using a firearm in furtherance of a racketeering conspiracy, to be served consecutive to a 20 year sentence received in the Circuit Court, Prince George’s County for attempted murder.