MS-13 Leader Sentenced To 68 Years For 8 LI Murders

A infamous MS-13 gang boss who oversaw a violent campaign of terror throughout Long Island, including the horrific murders of two teenage girls in Brentwood, will be imprisoned for the remainder of his life.

A tattoo of MS-13.

For a violent crime spree that shook Suffolk County in 2016 and 2017, Alexi Saenz, 30, also known as Blasty and Plaky, was sentenced to 68 years in federal prison in a federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday, June 3.

A senior member of MS-13’s Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside faction, Saenz entered a guilty plea in 2024 to racketeering charges related to eight murders, several attempted murders, arson, drug trafficking, and felonies using guns.

According to US Attorney Joseph Nocella, Alexi Saenz conducted an unimaginable reign of terror, murder, and criminality that destroyed his town and claimed the lives of numerous people.

The September 2016 murders of Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, of Brentwood High School rank among the most heinous crimes. Prosecutors claimed that Saenz approved the attack as a member of an MS-13 killing squad that used machetes and bats to beat and chopped the girls to death.

Law enforcement efforts to eliminate MS-13’s presence on Long Island were heightened by the murders of Cuevas and Mickens, which provoked national indignation.

Other victims were Oscar Acosta, 19, who was knocked senseless and buried alive; Javier Castillo, 15, who was brought to a marsh and savagely murdered; and Michael Johnson, 29, whose body was abandoned in the woods after being lured to consume marijuana, then ambushed and cut with a machete.

According to FBI New York Assistant Director Christopher Raia, Saenz terrified Long Island by indiscriminately hunting and targeting a wide variety of victims, showing little concern for innocent bystanders who could be affected by his acts.

Saenz was responsible for drug trafficking, gang shootings, attempted murders, and an arson attack that burned many cars in addition to the killings. He sent money to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador, funded gang activities, and purchased weaponry using drug money.

The FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York worked on the investigation and prosecution for several years. Since 2010, dozens of MS-13 members connected to over 75 murders have been found guilty by federal prosecutors.

The punishment was hailed by Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina, who said that Alexi Saenz and his MS-13 colleagues terrorized Suffolk County and tore families apart. I applaud the SCPD officers’ and our law enforcement partners’ efforts to apprehend deadly gang offenders and provide closure to the families of the victims.

At the time of the offenses, Saenz, who was originally from El Salvador, resided in Central Islip. When the murders started, he was 22 years old. He won’t be able to get parole.