MS-13 Enforcer ‘Chichi’ Romero Gets 5 Years in Racketeering Case

Amilcar Romero, a/k/a “Chichi,” 47, of Los Angeles, is headed to federal prison for five years after pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy as a top enforcer in the MS-13 national program. His sentence, handed down in Newark, N.J., marks a strike against the gang’s effort to unify its U.S. cliques under a single command—fueled by drugs, extortion, and blood.

German Lisandro Benites-Moreno, “Raro,” 23, of Houston, also received 60 months for racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to ship firearms while being an illegal alien. From January to July 2014, Benites-Moreno admitted to plotting to transport weapons from Texas to MS-13 cells in New Jersey, arming a network built on fear and violence.

Marvin Garcia-Cruz, a/k/a “Buffalo,” 33, of West New York, New Jersey, got 108 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and possessing firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence. As leader of the “Pinos Locos Salvatrucha” clique, he helped orchestrate a hit on a fellow gang member who broke the rules—and his brother, allegedly tied to a rival crew.

Hector Carranza-Solis, a/k/a “Blackie,” 32, of West New York, Luis Lopez-Guzman, a/k/a “Nino,” 26, of Union City, New Jersey, and Rudy Gutierrez, a/k/a “Chiqui,” 24, of Union City, each drew 60-month sentences. All three belonged to the “Hudson Locotes Salvatruchas.” They conspired to kill a fellow MS-13 member and his brother, seeking approval for the hit from gang leadership in both the U.S. and El Salvador.

At the center of the operation: Romero and Joel Antonio Cortez, a/k/a “Pee Wee,” 42, also of Los Angeles. They served as top deputies to Jose Juan Rodriguez-Juarez, 34, the alleged architect of MS-13’s national program. By fall 2013, Romero became the main link between U.S. and El Salvador leadership, while Cortez recruited East Coast cliques—ordering hits and enforcing discipline through terror.

The gang also built a drug pipeline, flooding East Coast streets with cheap heroin and crystal meth from Mexican cartels. Profits flowed back to California to fund further criminal expansion. But federal investigators cracked the network, intercepting murder plans and dismantling the chain. U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said the sentences prove MS-13’s reach ends at the courthouse door.