Three alleged MS-13 gangbangers have been charged in the decade-old killing of a rival gang member in Florida who was stabbed roughly 100 times and then shot, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday.
The suspects were slapped with federal charges last month for allegedly participating in the slaying of 22-year-old Gerson Vilelio Vasquez-Portillo in Palm Beach back in 2015, according to authorities.
The recent arrests were part of a multi-agency operation that resulted in a total of nine alleged MS-13 gang members being nabbed in connection with four murders in the Sunshine State in 2014 and 2015.
Bondi dropped news of the arrests as she sought to highlight the Trump administration’s vow to crackdown on members of the violent, blood-thirsty gang.
“More arrests are coming,” Bondi said alongside law enforcement officials in Fort Lauderdale. “If you are a gang member living in this country, I’d self-deport right now because we’re coming after you.”
Jose “Chango” Ezequiel Gamez-Maravilla, Wilber “Blue” Rosendo Navarro-Escobar and Hugo “Power” Adiel Bermudez-Martinez were the latest to be slapped with charges over the savage stabbing and shooting of the rival gangbanger in 2015.
The three other violent killings in South Florida were also carried out using knives or machetes, authorities said.
The cases were only reopened in 2020 after initially going cold.
Wilson Tirado-Silva, Miguel Cabrera Granados and Melvin David Cruz-Ortiz were charged in connection with the 2014 murder of 18-year-old Joel Antonio Canizales-Lara, who was lured to a field and then knifed to death after falsely claiming he was part of the gang, authorities said.
The victim’s remains, which were dumped in a makeshift grave in the aftermath, were only recovered in 2021.
Meanwhile, Omar DeJesus Gutierrez, 18, was shot dead after he flashed a rival gang sign in 2015.
Alleged MS-13 leader Andy Tovar ordered Tirado-Silva to carry out that killing, authorities said.
And Tirado-Silva and Cruz-Ortiz were both also nabbed in the 2015 murder of Chrislet Ondina, 25, who was killed as part of a gang initiation for one of the perps.
“Nine MS-13 terrorists have been taken off our streets and four cold murder cases have been solved thanks to the great investigative work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners,” Bondi said.
“Let this be a lesson: no matter how long it takes, we will never give up in our pursuit of justice.”
Over the past decade, the Justice Department has intensified its focus on MS-13, which originated as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles but grew into a transnational gang based in El Salvador.
The gang now has strongholds in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, as well as thousands of members across the US.
“These vicious and callous acts by MS-13 not only shattered lives but also undermined the safety and security of South Florida communities,” said Hayden P. O’Byrne, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
“Through my office’s unwavering partnership with other federal, state, and local law enforcement, we are sending a clear message to those who inflict violence, feed drug addiction, or cause other harm to the people of our district: We will find you; we will prosecute you; and we will apply the full force of American justice.”
https://nypost.com/2025/04/04/us-news/alleged-ms-13-gang-members-charged-in-brutal-florida-murder/
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