South Florida Gang Members Indicted on Federal Drug Trafficking Charges

About a dozen gang members have been indicted on federal drug trafficking charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They are accused of distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl throughout South Florida.

The 12 men charged have been identified as members of MS-13, Sur-13 and the “Mexican Mafia,” and are all accused of operating out of Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. None of the men are listed as Broward County residents, and their immigration status was unclear as of late Friday.

Three of them, Luis Portillo, aka “Shadow,” aka “Sombra,” 35; Rafael Gutierrez, aka “Rafy,” 28; and Karina Martinez-Vazquez, 34, are from Miami.

Others from Florida include Malinda Martinez, 42, of Fort Myers; Jose “Blue Demon” Hernandez, aka “Labomba3,” 39, of Belle Glade; Loupe “L3g3nd” Loredo, 39, of Lake Wales; and Hugo “Houdini” Cruz, 33, of LaBelle.

Also charged are Felipe “Wicked” Gonzalez, 41; Francisco “Casper” Rangel, 41; Gabriela Rodriguez-Carrillo, 42; and Jose “Stranger” Puga, 45, all of California.

Suspect Edgar “Diablo” Garcia-Velasquez, 34, is from Honduras.

All are accused of conspiring with each other and others to possess 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. The fentanyl charges apply to Garcia-Velasquez, Rodriguez-Carrillo, Puga, Gonzalez and Martinez-Vazquez.

If found guilty, all suspects face life imprisonment.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.