MS-13 leaders sentenced for January 2022 double murder that resulted in nationwide lockdown of federal prison system

BEAUMONT, Texas – The last of seven defendants, all members of the violent transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, were sentenced in Beaumont for a double murder in 2022, announced Eastern District of Texas Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.

Juan Carlos Rivas-Moreiera, also known as “Juan Carlos Moriera” and “Stocky,” 45, a national of El Salvador and a high-ranking member and leader of MS-13, was sentenced to an additional term of life in federal prison on April 25, 2025, for his role in orchestrating and leading the violent plot to murder rival gang members.

On April 29, Hector Ramires, also known as “Cuervo,” 31, a national of Honduras, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison for his role in the attack.

In April 2022, seven defendants, including Rivas-Moreiera and Ramires, were indicted with charges relating to the planning and execution of a violent attack orchestrated by members of MS-13 against Mexican Mafia and Sureños associates that resulted in two deaths, two attempted murders, and a nationwide lockdown of all inmates in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) for almost a week.

“This case illustrates the danger posed, both in and out of prison, by MS-13, a foreign terrorist organization,” said Abe McGlothin, Jr., Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.  “MS-13 leaders in El Salvador ordered and plotted these heinous murders from thousands of miles away. MS-13 ‘soldiers’ incarcerated in a Texas prison executed that plan, murdering two rival gang members and stabbing two others.  These sentences should serve as a warning for any foreign terrorist organizations that the Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s office, along with our law enforcement partners, will use all available resources to disrupt and dismantle their terrorist network. Thanks to the outstanding work of the FBI and BOP investigators, the deservedly stiff sentences handed out in this case will likely ensure that these MS-13 defendants never see life beyond the walls of a federal prison.”                 

“The vicious brutality of MS-13 has no place in our prisons or our society,” said FBOP Director William K. Marshall III. “This heinous attack, which claimed two lives and endangered countless others, demanded a swift and decisive response. The life sentences handed down send an unmistakable message: we will relentlessly pursue and dismantle those who sow chaos and violence within our facilities. The Bureau of Prisons stands united with our law enforcement partners to ensure justice prevails and our communities are protected from these ruthless predators.”

“In a brutal, calculated act designed to terrorize rival gangs, MS-13 members butchered two men with over 45 stab wounds and left others clinging to life in a Beaumont prison,” said FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams. “This was no ordinary attack— it was one of the most violent prison executions in Texas history that triggered a nationwide lockdown of federal inmates and exposed the arrogance of MS-13 leaders, who believed they were beyond reach. Today’s sentencing shatters that delusion and sends a clear message: the FBI and our law enforcement partners will stop at nothing to guarantee these violent terrorists face the full consequences of their crimes.”

MS-13 is a transnational criminal organization composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, but also includes members from other countries such as Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. Although the gang originated in Los Angeles, California, it quickly spread and is now a national and international criminal organization with an estimated 10,000+ members regularly conducting gang activities in nearly all of the United States, including Texas, California, New York, and in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. On Feb. 20, the U.S. Department of State designated MS-13 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT).

The Mexican Mafia controls large portions of the Hispanic prison population in California and Texas and the federal prison system. MS-13 has had a symbiotic relationship with both the Mexican Mafia and the Sureños, which is a close association of Hispanic gangs that pay tribute to the Mexican Mafia while incarcerated in federal and state prisons in the United States. That symbiotic relationship recently began to fall apart as MS-13’s leadership in El Salvador, the Ranfla Nacional, sought to exert more control and independence of its own members while incarcerated in prisons within the United States, including using MS-13 command and control structure to enforce their orders, including orders to commit murders, even while in prison.

According to information presented in court, on January 31, 2022, at the U.S. Penitentiary (USP) in Beaumont, seven MS-13 members converged in a housing unit and attacked multiple Sureños members and one Mexican Mafia associate. Defendant Rivas-Moreiera began the prison attack when he came up behind Guillermo Riojas and stabbed Riojas twice in the chest.  Riojas fell immediately, and other MS-13 defendants stabbed and kicked Riojas while he lay motionless on the prison floor.  The MS-13 defendants then chased, cornered, beat, and repeatedly stabbed Andrew Pineda, and other Sureños members.  The prison attack lasted approximately eight minutes.

Riojas, 54, died as a result of the attack after suffering three stab wounds to the chest, piercing his heart twice and his lung once.  He also suffered injuries to his head and stomach during the attack.  Pineda, 34, who also died as a result of the attack, was stabbed 20 times on the front of his body and 26 times to the back of his body, for a total of 46 distinct stab wounds.  Two other Sureños members received serious injuries during the attack and were transported to an area hospital with numerous stab and puncture wounds.   

In addition to Rivas-Moreiera and Ramires, the following defendants have been sentenced for their role in the attack:

Larry Navarete, 44, a national of Nicaragua, was sentenced to an additional 360 months in federal prison;

Jorge Parada, 45, a national of El Salvador, was sentenced to an additional 360 months in federal prison;

Raul Landaverde-Giron, 35, a national of El Salvador, was sentenced to an additional 360 months in federal prison;

Sergio Sibrian, 32, a national of El Salvador, was sentenced to an additional 420 months in federal prison; and

Dimas Alfaro-Granados, 42, a national of El Salvador, was sentenced to an additional 360 months in federal prison.

This prosecution is the result of coordination between the Eastern District of Texas and Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV).  JTFV was created in 2019 to eradicate MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua (TdA) and is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country. Those include Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Northern District of Ohio; Districts of New Jersey, Utah, Massachusetts, Nevada and Alaska; Southern District of Florida; Eastern District of Virginia; Southern District of California; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division.  Additionally, the FBI; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; and the FBOP National Gang Unit have been essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.

This case is also a part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Batte from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, and now-co-directors of JTFV, Christopher A. Eason and Jacob Warren.  The case was investigated by the FBI and the FBOP.

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