BALTIMORE — More federal indictments have been handed down against Baltimore based members of the criminal Central American gang known as MS-13.
Federal prosecutors now say they've charged 25-year-old Manuel Alexander Lara Morales, the alleged leader of the gang's "CLS clique," and 24-year-old Miguel Riva Salvador.
The pair joins several other MS-13 members federally charged since July, including 23-year-old Eliseo Alexander Lopez Alvarez; 21-year-old Kevin Cuestas; 23-year-old Olvin Josue Posas Alvarenga; and 20-year-old Josue Anibal Guerra Ramos.
Together the men are accused of running a Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act Conspiracy involving at least four murders.
For example, the feds allege Lara Morales and Lopez Alvarez ordered the September 2023 killing of a man over drugs.
The group tracked the victim down at a library and lured him to a wooded area in Southeast Baltimore where they're accused of essentially executing him by firing squad.
It wasn't until five-days later the victim's body was found.
Due to their alleged participation in the murder, Cuestas and Posas Alvarenga were allowed to join the gang.
Posas Alvarenga played a major role in at least two other violent incidents.
One victim was expected to testify against Riva Salvador in a pending local criminal case.
Along with Guerra Ramos, the trio hunted the witness down behind his home and shot him several times. Luckily, he survived.
The third incident Posas Alvarenga took part in happened during November of 2023, with help from Lopez Alvarez, at the direction of Lara Morales.
According to prosecutors, the pair lured their next victim by using a phony Instagram account and posing as a woman.
Once the victim agreed to meet in Southeast Baltimore, he was gunned down.
As for Cuestas, he and Riva Salvador allegedly killed a man they'd targeted in March of 2024.
The following month, Guerra Ramos struck again, this time carrying out a double shooting, leaving one person dead.
