More than a dozen MS-13 gang members were charged Wednesday in violent killings in the area.

More than a dozen members of the MS-13 gang were charged Wednesday in the slayings of four young men in a Long Island park in January as well as the killing of a man and wounding of a woman in a Central Islip deli in January.

Following the discovery of the  mutilated bodies Justin Michael Banegas, Jefferson Villalobos, Jorge Tigre, and Justin Llivicura  in a Long Island park,more than a dozen MS-13 gang members were charged Wednesday in these and other violent killings in the area.

In all, members and associates of MS-13, also known as La Mara Salvatrucha, were charged with racketeering, 12 murders, attempted murders, assaults, obstruction of justice, arson, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, and related firearms and conspiracy charges relating to the gang’s activities on Long Island.
Authorities describe ‘frenzy of violence’ in MS-13 gang slaughters where victims were lured to a park by girls and hacked and beaten to death with machetes, knives and clubs
Justin Llivicura, 16; Jorge Tigre, 18; and cousins Michael Banegas and Jefferson Villalobos, both 18, were found slaughtered and mutilated in a Long Island park
The gang was reportedly hunting for rivals and perceived enemies, but the families of the victims say they were not involved in a gang
Once there, the youths were surrounded by more than a dozen gang members who attacked them with machetes, knives and wooden clubs.
It was reported that Justin Llivicura’s body was so mutilated that police wouldn’t let his parents see it
Prosecutors last week quietly charged four people in the killings but have revealed scant details about the case.
Alleged MS-13 members Alexis Hernandez, Santis Leonel Ortiz-Flores and Omar Antonio Villalta have been charged in the quadruple homicide
A fourth defendant’s identity was blacked out. The U.S. Attorney’s office would not say whether that person was in custody or still at large.
The April massacre in Central Islip was part of a string of Long Island killings blamed on MS-13, a deadly gang with origins in Central America. The deaths have attracted international attention and led to Congressional hearings, tweets from the White House and a visit to Long Island from the U.S. attorney general.
In a letter to the court, federal prosecutors said the four victims, plus the person who escaped, ‘were marked for death merely because they were suspected of disrespecting the MS-13 and being rival gang members.’

Michael Banegas and Jefferson Villalobos, both 18, were all, they had all been slaughtered alongside Justin Llivicura and Jorge Tigre

In a statement released by lawmakers, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said “MS-13 is one of the most vicious criminal gangs in this county today.”
He referred to the gang’s “kill, rape and control” motto and said the Department of Justice was committed to “eradicating the MS-13 threat.”
Alexis Hernandez, 20, Santos Leonel Ortiz-Flores, 19, and Omar Antonio Villalta, 22, were each charged with the April 11 murders of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos, according to court papers.
Mario Aguilar-Lopez, 18, Enrique Portillo, 20, Alexi Saenz, 22, Jairo Saenz, 20, and Jose Suarez, 23, were charged in connection with the January 20 murder of Esteben Alvarado-Bonilla, a suspected rival gang member, and the wounding of an innocent bystander at El Campesino Deli in Central Islip.

Justin Llivicura and Jorge Tigre were set upon by a horde of MS-13 member and killed with the two cousins Banegas and Villalobos, in a park in Central Islip, Long Island in April of 2017

New York ‘s governor Cuomo, released a statement Wednesday saying that “every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in their own neighborhood and we refuse to be intimidated by MS-13, or any other criminal element that threatens our communities.”
He said addtional resources have been dedicated to combating gang violence on Long Island and reiterated the state’s commitment not to rest “until this epidemic is stamped out once and for all.”