MS-13’s bloody trail in Madrid: Two murders and a hit ordered for $3,400

The young man who died after collapsing in a pharmacy in the Spanish city of Getafe from a stab wound to the chest and a cut to the neck on June 16 had previously been arrested for belonging to the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) in Spain.

On Saturday night, the Homicide Division arrested the alleged perpetrator of the fatal stabbing, a minor affiliated with the Trinitarios gang. The MS-13 is a dangerous organization originating from El Salvador that has attempted to establish itself in Spain for at least a decade.

However, it was only three months ago that police arrested 27 individuals in Madrid and Barcelona, including the 23-year-old Peruvian young man, as suspected members of the gang. Police are now investigating whether membership in that group could have been the trigger for the deadly attack that ended his life. This is not the first time the Mara has left a trail of blood in the Madrid region.

The suspect arrested for the June 16 homicide is a minor affiliated with the Trinitarios gang who had been hiding since the day of the incident at a friend’s house in the town of Aranjuez, in the Madrid region. It was at this residence that he was apprehended. Police confirmed that he had altered his physical appearance to avoid being recognized, but it was to no avail.

Despite the victim and perpetrator’s connections to two violent gangs, investigators are still unsure whether gang affiliation was the trigger for the deadly fight, as these groups rarely engage in direct confrontations.

The Trinitarios’ arch-enemies are the Dominican Don’t Play gang. However, members of MS-13 are not commonly seen in Madrid’s usual criminal landscape. The operation leading to the arrest of the Getafe victim and 26 other Salvatrucha members began following a report on February 4, 2024, in the Madrid neighborhood of Puente de Vallecas.

On that day, a citizen reported to police that he had been violently approached by six individuals outside a nightclub, robbed of 200 euros, and told: “Here in Spain, the Mara Salvatrucha still rules.” This phrase alerted officers, who passed the information to specialists in gangs and violent groups in Madrid.

The victim was also able to identify a characteristic gesture used by these groups, which he knew well since he came from the same country. The gesture involves extending the index and pinky fingers, called the “horns of the beast.” One of the attackers said to him: “Here the Mara rules.” The assaulted man believes he was mistaken for a member of the Salvatrucha’s rival gang, Barrio 18.

During the assault, one of the men made a hands-free call and asked: “We have a kid here. Do we have the green light?” The person on the other end left a nightclub and joined the attack. These details alerted police to the possible establishment of a Mara Salvatrucha cell in Spain and prompted them to activate all mechanisms to dismantle it at its roots.

The robbery investigation continued, resulting in the arrest of six suspects: A.G., A.B., J.R., G.M., R.M., and N.G. One was arrested in Alicante in the Valencia region, where he had traveled to work as a construction laborer. Police noticed tattoos worn by some of them that are typical of MS-13 — a teardrop on one side of the face, symbolizing involvement in homicides or honoring a fallen comrade, and the number 13 tattooed on the head, which identifies the gang.

Thanks to these investigations, police connected the dots and found further evidence of the gangsters’ attempts to establish control over territory. These may seem minor, but have violent and very real consequences. Officers found graffiti in some neighborhoods demonstrating the gang’s presence in Madrid and Barcelona. They also intercepted calls within this cell arranging murders for €3,000 ($3,400). In fact, this communication led to the arrest of 27 alleged members of the organization at the end of March 2025.

Additionally, police attributed another violent crime committed in the Madrid municipality of Alcobendas in 2023 to two of these gang members. The victim of that crime was subjected to excessive violence. The prosecution’s report stated that the two accused homicide suspects jumped from a bench to stomp on the victim’s head, causing irreversible injuries. The two have just been convicted in the Madrid Provincial Court after admitting to the facts. The beating was so brutal that the autopsy showed no defensive wounds on the deceased.

The members identified in Madrid and Barcelona were grouping under the cell name “Adams,” and contacts were confirmed with other members in El Salvador and the United States. The agents were able to identify their different roles: there was a leader and his right-hand man, one responsible for guarding drugs, another for enforcing discipline...

This is not the first time police have disrupted attempts by this criminal group to establish and expand itself in Spain. In 2014, an investigation ended with 32 arrests after it was confirmed that these individuals followed orders from gang leaders in El Salvador, who had tasked them with recruiting potential members in Spain. The investigation progressed, and ultimately 41 people were convicted of crimes including membership in a criminal organization, conspiracy to commit murder, assault, and money laundering, among others.

Like many other gangs of this type, the MS-13 have an unbreakable hierarchy. Any disrespect to a superior can have fatal consequences. To join one of the clicas — as these cells are called — prospective members must prove their courage, demonstrate they can carry weapons, and endure 13 seconds of indiscriminate beatings from their future comrades.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition