Carlos Geovanni Martinez-Aguilar, Illegal Reentry, Massachusetts 2023

BOSTON – In a major victory for law enforcement, Carlos Geovanni Martinez-Aguilar, the notorious MS-13 founder in Massachusetts, has been sentenced to three years in prison for illegally reentering the United States after being deported.

Martinez-Aguilar, 38, of Mesquite, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to three years in prison and two years of supervised release. In April 2016, Martinez-Aguilar pleaded guilty to unlawful re-entry of a deported alien.

A native of El Salvador, Martinez-Aguilar was born in 1977 and entered the United States illegally in 1995. In September 2002, he was convicted in Middlesex Superior Court of unarmed robbery and was deported from the United States to El Salvador in July 2003.

Prior to his 2003 deportation, Martinez-Aguilar was a leader of the MS-13 gang in the North Shore area, known by his gang nickname, “Buffalo.” MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is a transnational street gang with origins in El Salvador, notorious for using extreme violence, including violence against rival gangs.

After his deportation, Martinez-Aguilar returned to the United States, using a false name in Lawrence for assault with a dangerous weapon, making threats, giving a false name to police, and armed robbery. However, Martinez-Aguilar posted bail and was released before the Lawrence Police Department learned his true identity.

Federal agents tracked Martinez-Aguilar, referring the case to America’s Most Wanted, a national show that profiles the search for dangerous fugitives. A segment on “Buffalo” aired in early 2009, in an effort to get the public’s assistance in apprehending Martinez-Aguilar.

On Sept. 23, 2015, Martinez-Aguilar was arrested in the Dallas, Texas area. During today’s sentencing hearing, Judge Gorton referred to MS-13 as a deadly and violent gang, citing the need to protect the public as a basis for his sentence of incarceration.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn MacKinlay of Ortiz’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit.

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