These are the brutal MS-13 murders that happened in Oakland Park, Palm Beach

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and other officials announced on Friday the arrests of nine convicted and alleged MS-13 gang members in homicide cases that had gone cold in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

At the news conference on Friday, a poster stood next to the podium with photos of the suspects under the title "Operation Sombra de la Bestia (Operation Shadow of the Beast)."

The cases are three gang-related homicides that happened in Oakland Park and one that happened in Palm Beach in 2014 and 2015, according to a news release. The cases went cold until they were reopened in 2020.

Six of the men involved in the murders have already been convicted. Three others were indicted in March 2025.

Here's a breakdown of the cases.

Who are the convicted and alleged MS-13 gang members involved in the four murders?

Six gang members involved in various killings were convicted in 2024 and 2025 of murder in aid of racketeering activity. They are:

• Andy Tovar (a/k/a "Fearless"), a gang leader guilty on two counts and sentenced to life in prison
• Wilson Tirado-Silva (a/k/a "Sombra"), a local gang leader responsible for growing the gang in South Florida and taking recruits on kills as part of initiation. He was found guilty on four counts and faces a mandatory life sentence
• Miguel Angel Cabrera-Granados (a/k/a "Mariachi"), guilty on one count and facing mandatory life sentence
• Melvin David Cruz-Ortiz (a/k/a "Bigfood/Pavaso"), guilty on three counts and facing mandatory life sentence
• Kevin Ricardo Gamez-Melendez (a/k/a "Ardilla/Cautela"), guilty on one count and facing mandatory life sentence
• Wilber Geovanni Vigil-Benitez (a/k/a "Solitario"), guilty on one count and facing mandatory life sentence

Three more alleged gang members were accused in March 2025 in the killing of Gerson Vilelio Vasquez-Portillo, 22. They are charged with murder in aid of racketeering activity and are all in federal custody. They face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison, and Bondi said officials are looking into the death penalty.

They are:

• Wilber Rosendo Navarro-Escobar (a/k/a “Power”) 
• Jose Ezequiel Gamez-Maravilla (a/k/a “Chango”)
• Hugo Adiel Bermudez-Martinez (a/k/a “Blue”)

Prosecutors said there is a 10th suspect, an unindicted co-conspirator, who is still on the loose.

The killing of Joel Canizales-Lara, 18

The first victim, 18-year-old Joel Canizales-Lara, was reported missing by his family in 2014. His body wasn't found until May of 2021, after an extensive, multi-day excavation in the 4200 block of North Dixie Highway in Oakland Park.

Officials said he had been punched, kicked, stabbed to death, and buried in a makeshift grave in November of 2014.

Tirado-Silva, Cabrera-Granados and Cruz-Ortiz were convicted in his death.

The killing of Omar DeJesus Gutierrez, 18

Omar DeJesus Gutierrez, 18, was "killed by machete strikes to his head and neck" after someone told Tirado-Silva that he had been flashing signs of a rival gang in January of 2015. Tirado-Silva murdered him in the 200 block of Northeast Oakland Park Boulevard.

The killing was approved by MS-13 leader, Tovar.

Officials said the victim was not a documented gang member.

The killing of Chrislet Ondina, 25

Chrislet Ondina was just 25 when he was killed on Oct. 19, 2015.

That day, BSO detectives had responded to an alleyway in the 100 block of Northwest 41st Street in Oakland Park. They found the victim "stabbed many times in the neck and chest" and rushed him to the hospital, but he died soon after getting there.

Ondina had been hanging out with Tirado-Silva and Cruz-Ortiz until the two decided to stab him to death.

"Detectives believe the murder was part of an initiation into MS-13 for Cruz-Ortiz," a release from BSO reads.

The killing of Gerson Vilelio Vasquez-Portillo, 22

Gerson Vilelio Vasquez-Portillo's body was found on May 3, 2015 after he was stabbed approximately 100 times in the face, neck, torso, and groin.

Bondi on Friday described the brutal killing as "almost like a game, to get a higher level in their gang initiation," and said the killers even referred to him as a "piñata."

He was then shot in the head in the vacant lot in Palm Beach.

Suspects Gamez-Maravilla, Bermudez-Martinez and Navarro-Escobar were indicted in his murder in March 2025.

Tovar, Cruz-Ortiz, Gamez-Melendez, Vigil-Benitez, Navarro-Escobar, Gamez-Maravilla and Bermudez-Martinez were already found guilty of his murder in 2024 and 2025.