Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Friday the arrest of three individuals believed to be affiliated with the MS-13 gang, as authorities continue to investigate a series of unresolved homicide cases. The arrests are linked to a brutal killing in Florida, part of a broader inquiry into four cold case murders that occurred between 2014 and 2015 in South Florida.
Fox News reports federal murder charges have been filed against the suspects for their alleged involvement in the 2015 slaying of 22-year-old Gerson Vilelio Vasquez-Portillo in western Palm Beach County. Authorities believe the victim may have been connected to a rival gang, prompting the violent attack in which he was both shot and stabbed.
One of the most disturbing cases under investigation involved a victim who was stabbed approximately 100 times before being fatally shot. These incidents are part of a broader effort to resolve a string of violent crimes associated with gang activity in the region.
“These gangs are organized. They are terrorists. And look at these guys, they thought they got away with it for almost a decade but they did not,” Bondi said. “They are living among us because they think they can get away with this, and they cannot.”
Bondi said that one of the three suspects recently arrested, Hugo Adiel Bermudez-Martinez, was picked up in Minnesota. Jose Ezequiel Gamez-Maravilla and Wilber Rosendo Navarro-Escobar were arrested in Florida.
“We will be reviewing them to see if we will seek the death penalty,” Bondi said. “More arrests are coming. If you are a gang member living in this country, I’d self-deport right now because we’re coming after you.”
The arrests were part of a multi-agency operation named Operation Sombra De La Bestia, or Operation Shadow of the Beast. Bondi was also joined by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and the Broward Sheriff’s Office to make the announcement.
Bondi indicated that prosecutors are currently reviewing the cases to determine whether to pursue the death penalty. “We will be reviewing them to see if we will seek the death penalty,” Bondi said. “More arrests are coming. If you are a gang member living in this country, I’d self-deport right now because we’re coming after you.”
The arrests were made as part of a collaborative law enforcement effort dubbed Operation Sombra De La Bestia(Operation Shadow of the Beast). Bondi made the announcement alongside representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
According to officials, five additional MS-13 members also played roles in the murder of Vasquez-Portillo. Other victims in the ongoing investigation include 18-year-old Joel Antonio Canizales-Lara, who was allegedly murdered in Oakland Park in 2014 after falsely claiming gang affiliation. He was lured to an isolated location, stabbed repeatedly, and buried in a shallow grave. His remains were recovered in 2021 during an excavation.
Authorities also identified Tirado-Silva and Cruz-Ortiz as suspects in three of the murders, while Tovar is said to have been involved in two.
Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony emphasized the enduring nature of the investigation, stating justice has no expiration date.
If they are found guilty then they should definitely be executed so they can never escape and repeat their crimes. And it should be done quickly without all the endless legal battles. Stand them up to a wall and let the shots be fired. Televise it. Let their criminal buddies know for sure that is what happened. Then I would think they’d seriously be trying to get out of this country.