A high-ranking leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, popularly known as MS-13, was arrested in New York last night for his alleged role in a conspiracy responsible for 11 murders.
The District of Nevada indicted Joel Vargas-Escobar, also known as Momia, on charges of racketeering conspiracy involving eleven killings. Vargas-Escobar is also accused of two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, as well as firearms offenses. Vargas-Escobar, who had previously been deported to El Salvador before unlawfully reentering the United States, had been a fugitive from justice for almost four years.
“The American people are safer following the arrest of yet another MS-13 leader thanks to the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Joint Task Force Vulcan,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This terrorist entered our country illegally and is accused of orchestrating 11 murders — under President Trump’s leadership, we will not rest until this terrorist organization is completely dismantled and its members are behind bars.”
“The arrest of yet another violent and dangerous MS-13 leader is a major win for our FBI agents, law enforcement partners, and safer American streets,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Our agents and analysts are continuously coordinating across multiple field offices and investigating with our valued partners to keep this work going — and we will not stop until that work is done.”
“No matter where a violent MS-13 fugitive hides or how long it takes our skilled law enforcement partners will find them,” said United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada. “We will aggressively prosecute this defendant for his alleged role in a racketeering conspiracy involving murders in Nevada and California and seek justice for victims.”
“The FBI is fully dedicated to utilizing all available resources to partner with local, state, and federal agencies in disrupting and dismantling criminal organizations that pose a threat to the communities we serve,” said Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI Las Vegas Division. “Every family has the right to reside in a community free from fear and gang violence. We encourage the public to provide information that can assist us in this critical mission. Do not suffer in silence; law enforcement is prepared to support victims and promote safer communities for everyone.”
According to court papers, MS-13 is a national and global gang made up primarily of Salvadorans and other Central Americans. MS-13 has around 10,000 members who regularly perform gang activities in at least ten states and Washington, D.C., as well as thousands more throughout Central America and Mexico. MS-13 utilizes intimidation and violence, including murder, to profit its members and associates through illegal operations such as breaking into homes and stealing firearms, jewels, cash, and other valuable objects, as well as selling narcotics. MS-13 organizes itself into subdivisions known as “cliques,” often featuring one or more leaders, sometimes referred to as “shot callers.”
Vargas-Escobar and his co-defendants are accused of being part of MS-13’s command and control structure in Las Vegas and California, as well as holding important leadership positions in the organization’s operations. The indictment charges members of MS-13’s “Parkview” clique with 11 murders in Nevada and California over the course of a year. According to the indictment, MS-13 members allegedly kidnapped several of the victims and transported them to secluded regions in the highlands and desert, where they were tortured and killed.
Vargas-Escobar was the suspected commander of the Parkview MS-13 group in Las Vegas, and he personally ordered two of the charged murders. In 2018, El Salvador deported Vargas-Escobar, but he later illegally re-entered the country.
The FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division in Washington, D.C., coordinated the arrest operation, with assistance from the FBI’s Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York field offices, the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, and Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV).
JTFV, which was created in 2019 to destroy MS-13 and has now expanded to target Tren de Aragua, is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, the District of New Jersey, the Northern District of Ohio, the District of Utah, the District of Massachusetts, the Eastern District of Texas, the Southern District of Florida, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Southern District of California. JTFV has also worked closely with the FBI, DEA, HSI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that mobilizes the Department of Justice’s full resources to combat the invasion of illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from violent criminals. Additional information on the OCDETF Program is available at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Vargas-Escobar made his initial court appearance this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks of the Eastern District of New York—Central Islip. Judge James M. Wicks ordered his detention and brought him to the District of Nevada for trial. If convicted, Vargas-Escobar risks a mandatory life sentence. A federal district court judge will impose a sentence after examining the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory circumstances.
The case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Christopher Taylor and Justin Bish from the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanee Smith and Steven Rose for the District of Nevada, with significant assistance from Joint Task Force Vulcan Deputy Director Jeremy Franker and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.