Authorities in Ohio charged four MS-13 gang members this week with conspiracy to commit extortion. In all, authorities arrested 23 gang members or associates. Two of the defendants are also facing charges of an alien in possession of firearms or ammunition.

The recently unsealed 11-count superseding indictment alleges that the MS-13 gang members and associates all conspired to extort victims into paying money to them, and they did so by using or threatening violence or inducing fear. The proceeds were sent by wire transfer, and sometimes by intermediaries, back to MS-13 members and associates in El Salvador.

Those charged with acting in the extortion conspiracy were: Jose Martin Neftali Aguilar-Rivera (aka “Momia” and “Pelon”); Pedro Alfonso Osorio-Flores (aka “Smokey”); Juan Jose Jimenez-Montufar (aka “Chele Trece”); Isaias Alvarado (aka “Cabo”); Cruz Alberto-Arbarngas (“Cruzito”); Jose Manuel Romero-Parado (“Russo”); Jose Salina-Enriquez (“Martillo”); Jorge Cazares (“Veneno”); Jose Ramiro Aparicio-Olivares (“Flaco”); Nelson Alexander Flores (“Mula”); Jose Daniel Gonzalez-Campos (“Flaco”); and Daniel Alexander Dias-Romero (“Manchas”).

The indictment obtained by Breitbart Texas states the defendants “used telephones to contact their victims, make extortion demands, and provide instructions regarding how, when, and to who victims were to transmit extortion proceeds.”

These defendants were charged with using national and international wire transfers involving financial institutions, including MoneyGram, Sigue, and Western Union, “in order to promote and facilitate the activities of MS-13.” Many of the defendants, along with Carolina Garcia-Miranda (aka “Mamayema”), were charged with money laundering.

The indictment states that MS-13 members use the money obtained from extortion and drug trafficking to further additional criminal activity like purchasing drugs, weapons, cellphones, and the like.

The illegally-obtained money is also used to financially support MS-13 in El Salvador and the U.S., including those who are incarcerated or who have been deported. The suspects also send money to families of deceased comrades, the indictment states.

In late December, Breitbart Texas reported that an MS-13 clique was terrorizing a local immigrant community in Maryland seven miles from the White House. Abigail Bautista, an illegal alien from Guatemala who moved there in 2012, said she immediately felt the fear of living in an MS-13 community. Gang members stopped the mother of five in the street one day and demanded $60 rent per week “or there would be trouble.”

Many of the victims of MS-13 extortion and violence are illegal aliens. Some of the gang’s members came to the U.S. as Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) who are later recruited to join. Almost 200,000 UACs have illegally crossed the border in recent years, and most of them are from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras where MS-13 is based. The young illegal aliens are conditioned to the violence having been desensitized to it while living in Central America.

As noted in the unsealed indictment, “MS-13” is the common phrase used for the La Mara Salvatrucha gang. The El Salvadoran word “Mara” means “gang,” and “Salvatrucha” is a combination of “Salva” an abbreviation for “Salvadoran,” and “trucha.” “Trucha” is slang for “fear us,” “look out,” or “heads up.”

The U.S. government designated MS-13 gang as a “transnational criminal organization” in 2012, and the organization’s motto is “mata, viola, controla” (“kill, rape, control”).

The charges filed this week also include eight new counts, including possession and intent to distribute drugs. The new indictment charges that MS-13 members and associates conspired to possess and distribute cocaine and marijuana. Isaias Alvarado is accused of attempting to obstruct justice, as well as destruction or removal of property to prevent the lawful seizure of evidence. There is also a charge for illegal re-entry of a previously removed alien.

In July, prosecutors charged 10 members of the notorious gang with conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and the use of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. In all, nine suspects have been arrested and charged with federal immigration crimes.

The defendants face up to 20 years in prison each for: conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute drugs, and obstruction of justice.

The maximum possible sentence for the crime of alien in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition is 10 years, and two years for illegal reentry of a removed alien. Destruction or removal of property to prevent seizure can lead to up to five years, and at least seven years, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for brandishing a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. Five of the defendants were charged with this latter crime.

The federal government also pleaded for forfeiture of ammunition and firearms or substitute assets used in the commission of these crimes.

The arrests in Ohio occurred as a result of an investigation by the FBI, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and local law enforcement agencies.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the transnational criminal organization, a notoriously violent and well-organized gang, has more than 10,000 members operating in at least 40 states, Breitbart Texas reported. MS-13 is formed into “cliques,” localized smaller groups of the gang and associates who operate under the mantel of the organization based in El Salvador.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Gab, and Facebook.