WASHINGTON — An alleged high-ranking leader of the violent MS-13 gang has been extradited from Guatemala to the United States to face racketeering conspiracy charges, federal authorities announced Wednesday.
Moises Humberto Rivera-Luna, 55, also known as “Santos” and “Viejo Santos,” appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C., following a years-long effort to bring him to the U.S. for prosecution. Prosecutors allege that while incarcerated in El Salvador, he supervised MS-13 operations in the Washington metropolitan area before relocating to Guatemala, where he was later arrested.
Rivera-Luna is one of seven defendants named in a 2013 indictment that accuses MS-13 members of murder, kidnapping, extortion, narcotics distribution, and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors allege he played a key role in ordering violent attacks, including the 2008 stabbing death of a man in Washington and a 2010 killing in Maryland.
“Keeping Americans safe from transnational criminal gangs is one of the Department’s top priorities,” said Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This defendant’s appearance in federal court in Washington today demonstrates our relentless commitment to seeking justice for victims, no matter how long it takes.”
Federal authorities said MS-13 leaders in El Salvador regularly communicated with gang members in the U.S., coordinating criminal activities and directing acts of violence against rivals and suspected informants.