New York, April 20. One of the main leaders of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Wilfredo Ayala Alcántara, was brought today from Texas to New York, where he is accused, along with twelve other leaders of that gang, of directing the activities of that criminal organization in United States, El Salvador, Mexico and other places during the last two decades, reported the federal prosecutor’s office.
Some of the co-defendants have already been arrested in the United States, and federal authorities believe that other of these MS-13 leaders are in custody in El Salvador and others are on the run.
According to a statement from the Prosecutor’s Office, Ayala Alcántara, 55, and known as the “Hollywood Indian” was accused today of conspiring to extort and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and to hide them, in addition to narco-terrorist conspiracy.
He also points out that he was one of the founders of a subgroup of MS-13 in Los Angeles, California, and that he rose to become one of its highest leaders in El Salvador.
The alleged leader of the MS-13 was arrested on April 18 by federal agents when he arrived at the George Bush airport in Texas on his way to El Salvador, after being deported from Mexico. His arrest was already announced in Mexico, although his identity was not disclosed.
“The abominable career of José Wilfredo Ayala Alcántara in MS-13 has come full circle,” said federal prosecutor Breon Peace, noting that he joined the gang when he lived (previously) in the United States, from where he was deported to his country, and there he rose to a leadership position.
He also indicated that he will now “face justice in New York, where MS-13 has generated so much violence in our communities.”
The charges against the Salvadoran were unveiled on February 23 when two of the co-defendants in this case were arrested and a third was arrested earlier this week, the statement added.
According to the indictment -according to the Prosecutor’s Office- Ayala Alcántara and his co-defendants are part of the command and control structure of the MS-13, made up of the Ranfla Nacional, the Ranfla in Las Calles and the Ranfla in Los Penales, and played important leadership roles in the organization’s operations in El Salvador, Mexico, the United States and around the world.
It highlights that they allegedly became involved in numerous violent terrorist activities with a view to influencing the government of El Salvador and that police and military officers are among their victims.
They are also accused of public displays of violence to intimidate the civilian population, obtain and control territory, and manipulate the electoral process in El Salvador, violence that they have also carried out in the US, Mexico, and elsewhere.
Three of the co-defendants are fugitives: Jorge Alexander de La Cruz, known as “Cruger de Peatonales”, Juan Antonio Martínez Abrego as “Mary Jane of Hollywood”, and Francisco Javier Román Bardales alias “Veterano de Tribus”, and the Prosecutor’s Office is offering 20,000 reward dollars for information leading to his capture. EFE
rh/fjo
