Miguel Angel Manjivar Gets Life for MS-13 Murders

Miguel Angel Manjivar, aka ‘Masflow’ or ‘Garra,’ 25, of Hyattsville, Maryland, is locked up for life after a federal jury convicted him of murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to participate in a gang enterprise. U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus handed down the sentence in Greenbelt, Maryland, ordering Manjivar to serve 30 years for racketeering conspiracy, followed by life in prison for murder — consecutively, with no chance of parole.

The verdict stems from a brutal spree of violence carried out by the MS-13 Peajes Locotes Salvatrucha clique between 2009 and October 2014. Manjivar wasn’t just a member — he was a triggerman. On September 16, 2010, he shot and killed a man on a Hyattsville park footbridge, believing him to be a rival gang member. Less than four months later, on January 10, 2011, Manjivar and other gang members ambushed two alleged rivals in a grocery store parking lot on University Boulevard, beating and stabbing them in a savage attack that left one dead and one alive.

But it was the third assault that laid bare the gang’s culture of cruelty. On January 13, 2011, after criticizing fellow MS-13 members for lacking violence, Manjivar joined a group that abducted a suspected rival near the Fort Totten Metro Station. They dragged the man into a van, beat him, tried to strangle him with a seat belt, then dumped him in the woods near Chillum Manor Road — stripped, bloodied, and left for dead. The victim survived, testifying to the horror of being stabbed, choked, and discarded like trash.

MS-13, a transnational gang rooted in El Salvador, operates in cliques across Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. Membership demands blood — attacks on rivals are not just encouraged, they’re required. The gang enforces its rules through fear, extortion, and retaliation, targeting rivals known as ‘chavalas’ and silencing anyone who talks. Manjivar lived by that code, escalating violence to prove his loyalty.

This case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, resulted in convictions for 14 of 15 defendants. One remains a fugitive, still evading justice. The investigation was a joint push by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Prince George’s and Montgomery County Police Departments, and both county state’s attorneys’ offices.

“This sentence sends a clear message: violent gang activity will be met with maximum penalties,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Manjivar didn’t just commit crimes — he lived a life of calculated brutality. Today, the streets are safer.”