>Maryland MS-13 Leader Charged with Illegal Firearms Trafficking in Washington, D.C.
According to the indictment and additional court documents filed by the Government, Vigil-Benitez, who also goes by the gang name “Solitario,” is a leader of the Delicias Locos Salvatruchas Clique de La Mara Salvatrucha, commonly referred to as MS-13, a transnational criminal organization. From approximately September 2017 through July 2018, Vigil-Benitez led a firearms trafficking conspiracy where, according to the indictment, he obtained firearms from an MS-13 associate and then illegally sold them on the streets of Washington, D.C., for profit. Vigil-Benitez was prohibited from possessing firearms due to his prior Maryland felony conviction, a firearms offense. Vigil-Benitez traveled from Maryland into the District of Columbia to sell firearms illegally on at least eight occasions. In total, Vigil-Benitez sold at least ten firearms, including an assault rifle.
This investigation was carried out in partnership with JTFV. In August 2019, Attorney General Barr created JTFV to carry out the recommendations of the MS-13 subcommittee formed under the Attorney General’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, which was the result of President Trump’s February 2017 Executive Order directing the Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to coordinate a whole-of-government approach to dismantle transnational criminal organizations, such as MS-13, and restore safety for the American people. The principal purpose of JTFV is to coordinate and lead the efforts of the Justice Department and U.S. law enforcement agencies against MS-13 in order to dismantle the group.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/maryland-ms-13-leader-charged-illegal-firearms-trafficking-washington-dc