The final two of seven members of the violent transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) have been sentenced for their roles in a 2022 double murder at the U.S. Penitentiary in Beaumont, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. The attack resulted in the deaths of two rival gang members and a nationwide lockdown of federal prisons.
Juan Carlos Rivas-Moreiera, 45, a high-ranking MS-13 leader from El Salvador, received an additional life sentence on April 25, 2025, for orchestrating the murders. Hector Ramires, 31, a Honduran national, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison on April 29, 2025, for his involvement in the attack.
In April 2022, Rivas-Moreiera, Ramires, and five other MS-13 members were indicted for planning and executing the violent assault on members of the Mexican Mafia and Sureños gangs. The January 31, 2022, attack resulted in the deaths of Guillermo Riojas, 54, and Andrew Pineda, 34, who suffered a combined total of over 45 stab wounds. Two other Sureños members were seriously injured.
Acting U.S. Attorney McGlothin emphasized the danger posed by MS-13, stating that leaders in El Salvador ordered the murders from thousands of miles away and that incarcerated MS-13 members in Texas carried out the plan. He warned that the Eastern District of Texas would use all resources to disrupt such terrorist networks.
FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams described the attack as one of the most violent prison executions in Texas history, triggering a nationwide lockdown. He stated that the sentences send a clear message that the FBI and law enforcement partners will ensure these violent terrorists face the full consequences of their crimes.
The other MS-13 members sentenced in this case include Larry Navarete, Jorge Parada, Raul Landaverde-Giron, Sergio Sibrian, and Dimas Alfaro-Granados, all of whom received lengthy additional prison sentences.
The prosecution resulted from the collaboration between the Eastern District of Texas and Joint Task Force Vulcan, a multi-agency effort targeting transnational criminal organizations like MS-13.
