WASHINGTON, D.C. — A high-ranking leader of the MS-13 transnational criminal organization has been extradited to the United States to face racketeering conspiracy charges following a multi-agency investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced.
Guatemalan officials extradited Moises Humberto Rivera-Luna, 55, also known as “Santos” and “Viejo Santos,” on March 4. He made his initial court appearance in the District of Columbia on March 5. Rivera-Luna is charged with racketeering conspiracy as part of a nine-count indictment that includes murder, kidnapping, and assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering against six co-defendants.
“His alleged criminal activity, combined with his leadership of the MS-13 transnational criminal organization, makes Rivera-Luna a significant threat to the safety of the American people,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Heck.
Authorities say Rivera-Luna previously supervised MS-13 operations from prison in El Salvador before traveling to Guatemala, where he was detained. Investigators allege that while incarcerated, he directed gang members in the Washington, D.C., area to target rivals and informants.
Rivera-Luna is accused of ordering the 2008 murder of Louis Alberto Membreno-Zelaya in Washington, D.C., and authorizing the 2010 killing of Felipe Enriquez in Maryland. The broader indictment links MS-13 members to crimes committed across the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and other states.
Federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials have vowed to continue targeting MS-13’s leadership and dismantling its operations in the U.S.