Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has authorized federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against three alleged MS-13 gang members accused of executing a cooperating witness in Los Angeles, marking one of his first major enforcement decisions since taking over the Justice Department.
In a memo dated Wednesday and obtained by the Washington Examiner, Blanche directed First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli to pursue capital punishment for Roberto Carlos Aguilar, Dennis Anaya Urias, and Grevil Zelaya Santiago. The three men are charged in federal complaints with murder in aid of racketeering for the killing of a victim who had been assisting authorities in a federal case.
Blanche’s decision on Wednesday followed former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s abrupt ouster last week. A source told the Washington Examiner that Bondi dragged her feet on making a decision over whether to seek the death penalty and that the matter therefore got stuck in an administrative bottleneck.
Prosecutors say the victim had been “green lit” by the MS-13 gang, formally known as Mara Salvatrucha-13, after his cooperation with law enforcement became known within the organization. That designation effectively marked him for death.
According to public records, Urias, 26, and Santiago, 25, allegedly carried out the shooting at a grocery store in South Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2025. Roughly an hour before the killing, the victim encountered Aguilar, 30, inside the store, an interaction investigators say set in motion the events that led to the shooting.
Authorities say the victim called law enforcement twice that evening, warning that MS-13 members had just attempted to kill him after a gun malfunctioned. During the second call, multiple gunshots could be heard in the background, according to the Justice Department.
All three defendants have been charged with murder in aid of racketeering, a federal offense that carries a mandatory life sentence and makes them eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Prosecutors allege the killing was carried out to avoid discipline within the gang or to elevate the defendants’ status.
BLANCHE ROLLS OUT FRAUD CRACKDOWN IN FIRST REMARKS SINCE BONDI OUSTER
Aguilar, identified in court documents as an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, is charged in a separate complaint, while Urias is a legal permanent resident and Santiago has a pending visa application. The three men made initial appearances in federal court in Los Angeles, where a magistrate judge ordered them detained without bond. Their arraignments are scheduled for June 3.
Making a final recommendation on the death penalty involves a thorough internal review process before it makes it to the attorney general’s desk for final determination.
