MS-13 gang members in Maryland sentenced for conspiracy to commit murder.

Two MS-13 members from a Maryland branch of the international gang were sentenced for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.

Endy Arturo Gaitan Campos, 30, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Jorge Isaac Argueta Chica, 23, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, participated in the Weedams Locos Salvatrucha (WLS) “clique,” which operated in and around Adelphi, Maryland, according to a news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Maryland.

A “clique” is how La Mara Salvatrucha gang, also known as “MS-13,” arranges its criminal organization into smaller groups, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. MS-13 is “composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in Maryland and throughout the United States.”

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Campos on Wednesday to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for the conspiracy charge. Argueta Chica was sentenced earlier this month to six years in prison and three years supervised release on the same charge, the Department of Justice said.

Campos and Argueta Chica helped participate in the Aug. 8, 2020, murder and cover-up of a person identified by the Justice Department only as “Victim 4.”