NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Brooklyn federal prosecutors on Thursday charged 14 of MS-13's "highest-ranking" leaders with terrorism offenses.
The 14 leaders "operated as [MS-13's] Board of Directors," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said in a press release on Thursday.
All of them "directed MS-13's violence and criminal activity around the world for almost two decades," according to the release.
They face charges including conspiracy to provide and conceal material support to terrorists, conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries and conspiracy to finance terrorism, the release said.
One of the leaders, Borromeo Enrique Henriquez, 42, is nicknamed the "Diablito de Hollywood" and is the "most powerful member" of the group, prosecutors said.
Three of the leaders, Fredy Ivan Jandres-Parada, 45; Cesar Humberto Lopez-Larios, 42; and Hugo Armando Quinteros-Mineros, 48, still haven't been arrested and "should be considered armed and dangerous," according to prosecutors.
Elmer Canales-Rivera, 44; Efrain Cortez, 51; Ricardo Alberto Diaz, 47; Eduardo Erazo-Nolasco, 48; Edson Zachary Eufemia, 46; Jose Fernandez Flores-Cubas, 46; Leonel Alexander Leonardo, 40; Jose Luis Mendoza-Figueroa, 56; Saul Antonio Turcios, 42; and Aristedes Dionisio Umanzor, 42, have also been charged, the release said.
"MS-13 is responsible for a wave of death and violence that has terrorized communities, leaving neighborhoods on Long Island and throughout the Eastern District of New York awash in bloodshed," Acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme said in a statement.
"Today's ground-breaking indictment seeks to demolish MS-13 by targeting its command and control structure and holding MS-13's Board of Directors accountable for their terroristic actions," he added.
Attorney information for the 14 men wasn't immediately available Thursday.
