U.S. and Salvadoran authorities highlight cooperation
June 7, 2007

*****

In a joint press conference, representatives of the FBI and the Department of Justice, along with Salvadoran Minister of Public Security and Justice Rene Figueroa and Salvadoran National Civilian Police Chief Rodrigo Avila, acknowledged that this indictment is a sample of the successful cooperation between the two countries and among their many agencies involved in law enforcement.

The indictment, returned by a Maryland court on June 4, alleges that two MS-13 leaders ordered gang murders in the United States from inside prison cells in El Salvador.  The indictment was announced June 5 in Washington by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. 
   
The 30-count superseding indictment, returned by a Federal District Court in Maryland on June 4, alleges that the three defendants – Dany Fredy Ramos Mejia, a/k/a “Sisco,” and Saul Antonios Turcio Angel, a/k/a “Trece,” and Rigoberto Del Transito Mejia Regaldo a/k/a “Ski” – conspired to participate in a racketeering enterprise in the United States and El Salvador that involved murder, robbery, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering through their participation in La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.  Two of the defendants allegedly communicated from prison in El Salvador with MS-13 gang members in the U.S.  to commit a variety of crimes, including the murders of two persons in the United States.

The charges span three states, three federal districts, and two countries. All three defendants are currently incarcerated in El Salvador for crimes committed in that country.

Press Release from Department of Justice

Click on the image to enlarge it