Arrests For Murders Of La Mara Salvatrucha

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

The number of individuals arrested in connection with the murder of four young men of Hispanic origin that shocked public opinion in April already rises to 17 after their remains were hacked to death in a park on Long Island, New York.

Suffolk County Police sources confirmed the capture of the subjects who are associated with the violent MS-13 gang, also known as the Mara Salvatrucha. Among them are two young women who served as a magnet to attract victims to a wooded area of the town of Brentwood and perpetrate the crime.

According to a memorandum issued by the authorities on July 13, the girls also belonged to the criminal organization and deceitfully lured the four victims and then notified their companions of their presence through text messages.

Michael López Banegas, 20, and his cousin Jefferson Villalobos, 18 - who according to multiple reports had emigrated from his native Honduras to flee local gangs - were killed by MS-13 members who were lurking in a surrounding area.

Justin Lliviruca, 16, born on Long Island and of Ecuadorian extraction, and Jorge Tigre, 18, who reportedly emigrated from that same South American country as a child, were also among those ambushed. A fifth young man who managed to flee has been identified by The New York Times as Alex Ruiz.