FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was in South Florida on Friday to announce the arrest of three more suspected members of the MS-13 gang accused in a series of killings dating back a decade. A total of nine people have now been arrested in the cases.
The investigation, dubbed "Operation Shadow of the Beast," involved cold cases that took place in Broward and Palm Beach counties in 2014 and 2015.
WATCH BELOW: Body found west of Boca Raton tied to series of MS-13 gang killings, AG Bondi says
According to the Department of Justice, Broward Sheriff's detectives investigated two killings in 2015 that took place in a small area of Oakland Park that appeared to be gang-related and were carried out using knives or machetes.
One victim, identified as Omar DeJesus Gutierrez, 18, was found on Jan. 7, 2015.
Then on Oct. 19, 2015, detectives found Chrislet Ondina, 25, in an alley who had been stabbed multiple times in the neck and chest. He was taken to a hospital but later died. Detectives said they believe the killing was part of an initiation into MS-13.
The DOJ said leads on the two cases went cold, but in 2020, the case was reopened. The Broward Sheriff's Office partnered with FBI agents in Miami and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
2 more bodies found, including one in southern Palm Beach County
Investigators later learned of two additional killings with similarities to the other homicides.
On May 3, 2015, the body of Gerson Vasquez Portillo, 22, was discovered by a fisherman boating near the 19600 block of South 120th Ave. west of Boca Raton. Portillo, who was found lying near an embankment, was stabbed repeatedly in the face, neck, torso and groin. He was also shot in the head.
In May 2021, investigators found the body of Joel Antonio Canizales-Lara, 18, after a multi-day excavation in Oakland Park. The Broward Sheriff's Office said the victim had been punched, kicked, stabbed to death and buried in a makeshift grave in the 4200 block of North Dixie Hwy. on Nov. 23, 2014.
The DOJ said a team of investigators pieced together evidence that revealed MS-13 gang members were responsible for all four killings.
Prosecutors said they secured federal indictments for nine suspects in the killings. Six suspects were indicted in July 2022. Then three more defendants were indicted in March 2025.
In the 2022 case, all six defendants were convicted of murder in aid of racketeering activity.
The DOJ said Andy Tovar, an MS-13 gang leader, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in aid of racketeering activity. Investigators said Tovar approved the murder of Gutierrez and participated in Portillo's killing in 2015, including shooting him in the eye. Tovar has been sentenced to life in prison.
Officials said Wilson Tirado-Silva pleaded guilty to four charges of murder in aid of racketeering activity for his role in the 2014 fatal stabbing of Canizales-Lara, the 2015 murder by machete of Gutierrez, the 2015 stabbing and gunshot murder of Portillo and the 2015 fatal stabbing of Ondina.
The DOJ said Tirado-Silva was a local MS-13 leader responsible for growing the gang in South Florida.
"He took MS-13 recruits on killings as part of gang initiation," according to the DOJ.
Tirado-Silva faces a mandatory life sentence.
Miguel Angel Cabrera-Granados pleaded guilty to one count of murder in aid of racketeering activity. Prosecutors said he participated in the 2014 fatal stabbing of Canizales-Lara to gain gang membership credit.
Cabrera-Granados faces a mandatory life sentence.
Melvin David Cruz-Ortiz pleaded guilty to three counts of murder in aid of racketeering activity for his role in Canizales-Lara's killing, the 2015 stabbing and gunshot killing of Portillo and the 2015 fatal stabbing of Ondina. The DOJ said Cruz-Ortiz committed the murders to gain gang membership credit.
Cruz-Ortiz faces a mandatory life sentence.
Kevin Ricardo Gamez-Melendez pleaded guilty to one count of murder in aid of racketeering activity for his role in the killing of Portillo. Gamez-Melendez faces a mandatory life sentence.
Wilber Geovanni Vigil-Benitez was convicted by a federal jury this year for murder in aid of racketeering. The jury found Vigil-Benitez guilty for his role in the killing of Portillo. Vigil-Benitez faces a mandatory life sentence.
WATCH THE FULL NEWS CONFERENCE BELOW:
Three more suspects charged in March 2025
In the March 2025 case, the DOJ said three more defendants were charged with murder in aid of racketeering activity in connection with the MS-13 stabbing and gunshot killing of Portillo. The following suspects are currently in federal custody:
- Jose Ezequiel Gamez-Maravilla
- Hugo Adiel Bermudez-Martinez
- Wilber Rosendo Navarro-Escobar
The three suspects face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum sentence of death.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said a tenth suspect has not yet been located.
"Nine MS-13 terrorists have been taken off our streets and four cold murder cases have been solved thanks to the great investigative work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners," Bondi said Friday. "Let this be a lesson: no matter how long it takes, we will never give up in our pursuit of justice."
The DOJ said that MS-13 is a "violent transnational gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador." Officials said the gang operates throughout parts of the U.S. and is a recognized terrorist organization.
The FBI and Homeland Security have nationwide tip lines for the public to share information about MS-13 gang and its activities. The FBI tipline is 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), and the HSI tipline is 1-866-DHS-2423.
