A member of the MS-13 gang has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for the horrifying 2017 murders of four young men in a New York park.
The individual, Omar Antonio Viralta, also goes by the name “Anticristo.” He recently admitted guilt in the case, as noted by a U.S. attorney’s office in Eastern New York.
On April 11, 2017, Viralta participated in the killings of four victims: Justin Lvikra, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre, and Jefferson Villalobos.
Viralta was also linked to the murder of another man in Charlottesville, Virginia, a few months later.
The killings were described as being executed by dozens of Viralta’s associates in MS-13. The attack occurred at a park in Central Islip, orchestrated by two women connected to the gang—Reniz Escobar and Kiri Gomez.
The victims were ambushed by gang members, some of whom included Josue Portillo, Freiry Martinez, Alexis Hernandez, Edwin Rodriguez, Sergio Segovia-Pineda, Henry Salmeron, and Anderson Sanchez.
Viralta and other gang members believed the victims were part of a rival faction, identified by their online images and hand signs indicating their gang affiliations.
In a chilling account, authorities recounted the events of the murder night. Viralta and numerous MS-13 members gathered in a nearby forest. They planned the attack while the women lured their rivals into the park. Viralta distributed knives and machetes while others armed themselves with wooden clubs, waiting for the victims to arrive. Escobar and Gomez guided the victims into a wooded area and alerted the gang to their presence. The gang members then surrounded the victims and attacked them with their weapons. Afterward, they dragged the bodies to a more secretive location in the woods.
Viralta later escaped to Charlottesville, where he got a job at a pizzeria. When a co-worker, Martin Rivera Guevara, unknowingly flashed a rival gang sign, Viralta and others plotted to kill him.
On July 3, 2017, an MS-13 associate at the pizzeria persuaded the victim to smoke marijuana and then drove him under the pretense of meeting a woman.
Recently, the U.S. Department of State classified MS-13 and similar groups as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists.
In a related case, an MS-13 leader who was convicted of six murders in Virginia received a life sentence earlier this year. Another member was found guilty of a brutal crime against a Maryland woman with five children.
It’s worth mentioning that President Trump focused on combating illegal immigration linked to gang violence, a consequence of previous policies. His administration reportedly deported numerous illegal gang members labeled as foreign terrorists during its initial days.
