CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — An influential member of the MS-13 gang from New York has admitted his part in a series of brutal murders, including a 2016 attack that claimed the lives of two teenage girls in a suburban Long Island community. The confession was part of a guilty plea to racketeering and firearms charges, encompassing multiple violent crimes.
On Wednesday, Alexi Saenz, a 29-year-old known gang leader, entered his plea at a federal court in Central Islip, New York. He did not speak much during the proceedings, instead choosing to have his attorney convey his admission of orchestrating several murders of rival gang members and others who had crossed or challenged his gang’s authority.
The case gained considerable national attention when it was revealed that among Saenz’s victims were two high school friends and classmates, 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas and 15-year-old Nisa Mickens. The teenagers were brutally beaten and hacked to death with a machete and a baseball bat by a group of men as they walked in their neighborhood.
Their murders put a spotlight on the violent activities of MS-13 during Donald Trump’s presidency, drawing attention from the then-President who visited Long Island multiple times and called for strict measures against gang violence, linking it to his broader immigration policy agenda.
Saenz admitted to being involved, directly or indirectly, in six other murders and three attempted murders. Among these were the cases of 15-year-old Javier Castillo and 19-year-old Oscar Acosta, whose deaths occurred under gruesome circumstances mirroring the barbarity inflicted on the two girls.
The plea also brought to light the deaths of several other victims including Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla, Dewann Stacks, Marcus Bohannon, and Michael Johnson—all of whom were slain in gang-related violence.
Despite initially facing the death penalty, prosecutors later decided to withdraw this possibility. Saenz now faces a sentencing range of 40 to 70 years, effectively a life sentence given his current age.
Victims’ families, while relieved that a trial will be spared, voiced mixed feelings regarding the justice served. Freddy Cuevas, Kayla’s father, expressed disappointment that the death penalty was not pursued. Nisa’s mother, Elizabeth Alvarado, commented on the emotional relief of avoiding a trial but lamented the enduring pain of her loss.
The murders led to a widespread crackdown on MS-13, resulting in numerous arrests. These actions spotlighted the suburban areas of Brentwood and Central Islip as focal points in the fight against gang violence.
Kayla Cuevas’ mother, Evelyn Rodriguez, who became an anti-gang activist, tragically died in 2018 during a confrontation about a street memorial for her daughter. The driver involved in the incident was later charged with negligent homicide.
The Saenz case underscores the ongoing challenges law enforcement and communities face in combating gang violence that too often recruits young people and terrorizes communities.
As the sentencing date of January 31 approaches, the communities affected continue to heal, reflecting on the deep scars left by senseless violence and the lengthy fight ahead to ensure such tragedies do not recur.