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Five members of the MS-13 gang in Long Island were charged by federal prosecutors for killing two of their fellow gang members. The victims were targeted for being too friendly with a rival gang and for allegedly providing information to federal authorities, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Yoneli Ramos-Moreno was strangled and beaten to death in Kings Park in 2023 for associating with the rival Latin Kings gang. The brutal attack was carried out by fellow MS-13 members who viewed his actions as betrayal, as per the official statement.
In a disturbing turn of events, one of Ramos-Moreno’s assailants, Carlos Lopez-Lopez, met a similar fate. He was drowned and stabbed to death in Blue Point in March after suspicions arose among the gang that he was collaborating with law enforcement, the prosecutors revealed.
“The legal terms in the indictment cannot adequately describe the sheer savagery with which the defendants, in service to the MS-13 gang, beat, strangled and murdered Ramos-Moreno and plotted to murder Lopez-Lopes,” Joseph Nocella, US Attorney for New York’s Eastern District, said in a statement.
“The charges in the indictment demonstrate my office and our law enforcement partners’ resolve to hold vicious transnational organized crime groups like MS-13 accountable for their crimes and continue the mission to eradicate them from Long Island,” Nocello said.
The five alleged gang members — David “Tenebroso” Orellana-Aleman, 27; Noel “Discreto” Portillo-Romero, 27; Cruz Eduardo “Poison” Sanchez-Gutierrez, 29; Ernesto “Perverso” Torres-Hernandez, 26; and Omar “Little Ejecutor” Zavala-Ventura, 27 — are all now in federal custody without bail.
Prosecutors said Ramos-Moreno was lured to a Hauppauge parking lot on Oct. 28, 2023, then taken to Sunken Meadow Bluff, where he was strangled and beaten to death.
Lopez-Lopez, who was part of the crew suspected of killing Ramos-Moreno, was killed by the other gang members on March 3 of this year because of his suspected cooperation with law enforcement.
The five are also accused of peddling drugs.
The feds said they’re members of MS-13 Hollywood and Carlington “cliques.”
La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, is an international gang based in Central America, with members from El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico infiltrating the US, including on parts of Long Island.
The gang is known for vicious mob attacks, often using machetes against their targets.
They’re known to turn on associates on mere suspicion of betrayal, according to authorities.
“The indictment of these five individuals connected to the brutal executions of two people — all because they were viewed as disloyal — is a clear demonstration of our commitment to hold these defendants accountable,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said in a statement.
Portilla-Romero, Sachez-Gutierrez and Torres-Hernandez were arrested Tuesday and are awaiting arraignment, federal prosecutors said, while Orellana-Aleman, who is in federal immigration custody, and Zavala-Ventura, who is being held by the FBI, will be arraigned at a later date.