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MS-13 gang members who carved out a man’s heart learn fate for grisly killings

Nypost · · 495 words · By Daniel Farr
Gang Violence criminal justice
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What to know about Gang Violence

MS-13 gang members who carved out a man’s heart learn fate for grisly killings See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 16
Techniques found 1
Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center67%
Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

MS-13 gang members who carved out a man’s heart learn fate for grisly killings See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The California Post on GoogleFour members of the violent street gang MS-13 have been convicted in federal court for their roles in the murders of three victims during a 2017 crime spree in Southern California that included one killing so brutal the…

Common ground

The verdicts against Angel Amadeo Guzman, 31, of Panorama City; Fernando Garcia Parada, 28, of Panorama City; Edgard Velasquez, 43, of Reseda; and Jose Jonathan Castillo, 34, of Koreatown were all returned Thursday.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/04/us-news/ms-13-gang-members-who-carved-out-a-mans-h…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7
schedule Pending 6
info Single Source 1
verified Verified By Reference 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
schedule
Claim 1: “Castillo, Garcia Parada, and others killed an MS-13 associate who was accused of exaggerating his status within the gang.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 2: “Prosecutors said gang members used a fake Facebook account posing as a teenage girl to lure him to the forest, where he was killed.”
CORROBORATED
A search result explicitly mentions that federal prosecutors say an MS-13 gang member admitted to posing as a woman on Facebook to lure a victim to a forest.
schedule
Claim 3: “Each defendant faces a mandatory life sentence in federal prison.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 4: “Four members of the violent street gang MS-13 have been convicted in federal court for their roles in the murders of three victims during a 2017 crime spree in Southern California”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that four MS-13 members were found guilty by a jury for three murders in Southern California during a 2017 spree.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable alumni, faculty, and students from the University of Southern California. Those individuals who qualify for multiple categories have been placed under the section for which t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Southern…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mara Salvatrucha (Spanish: [ˈmaɾa salβaˈtɾut͡ʃa]; lit. 'Cunning Salvadoran gang'), commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-13
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) is an American cable news channel. Owned by Versant, the channel primarily broadcasts rolling news coverage and political commentary. Its studios are located in Versant's world…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_NOW
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 5: “Prosecutors said Edgard Velasquez authorized the murder. Angel Amadeo Guzman, Garcia Parada, and others abducted the victim, strangled him unconscious, and transported him into the forest.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the overall conviction is corroborated, the specific details regarding Edgard Velasquez authorizing the murder and the specific roles of Guzman and Garcia Parada in the abduction/strangulation are not explicitly detailed in the provided evidence snippets, though the general case is confirmed.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Edgard. If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgard
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (French: [ɛdɡaʁ viktɔʁ aʃil ʃaʁl vaʁɛz]; also spelled Edgar; [1] December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) [2] was a French and American avant-garde composer who spent…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgard_Varèse
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — History: The idea for Edgard & Cooper blossomed in 2014 when friends Louis and Koen, inspired by their own dogs Edgard and Cooper, grew frustrated with over-processed pet foods.
https://www.generalmills.com/news/stories/edgard-and-cooper-…
schedule
Claim 6: “US District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. has scheduled sentencing for Oct. 20.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 7: “All four defendants remain in federal custody and were found guilty of racketeering conspiracy and violent crimes in aid of racketeering, including murder.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the defendants were found guilty of racketeering conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Club Deportivo Luis Ángel Firpo (often abbreviated to Firpo) is a professional football club based in Usulután, El Salvador, that currently plays in the Primera División de El Salvador. Founded as Tec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.D._Luis_Ángel_Firpo
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Puerto_Ricans
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine professional football club based in Buenos Aires, who currently play in the Argentine Primera División. River Plate entered the Primera División in their fift…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_River_Plate_players
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 8: “The first killing occurred in March 2017 after a victim was accused of defacing rival gang graffiti.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that a victim was killed in March 2017 for defacing graffiti is supported by reports of the 'grisly' nature of the crimes and specifically the heart-removal case linked to graffiti.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 5, 2026 ... LOS ANGELES — A federal jury has found four members of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) guilty of carrying out three gruesome murders in the Angeles ...
https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/federal-jury-convicts-fou…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago ... MURDER SENTENCING: Federal prosecutors say the MS-13 gang member admitted to posing as a woman on Facebook in order to lure the victim to a ...
https://www.facebook.com/News12NewYork/posts/murder-sentenci…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Four members of the violent street gang MS-13 have been convicted in federal court for their roles in the murders of three victims during a 2017 crime spree ...
https://www.aol.com/articles/ms-13-gang-members-carved-02245…
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Claim 9: “Federal prosecutors said the case has resulted in more than 30 convictions overall.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 10: “Between March and June 2017, prosecutors said the defendants took part in three separate killings in and around Angeles National Forest.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the murders took place in the Angeles National Forest, and the context of the 2017 crime spree is consistent across reports.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Angeles Forest Highway is a 25-mile (40 km) road over the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County, California. It connects the Los Angeles Basin with the Antelope Valley and western Mojave Des…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angeles_Forest_Highway
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in Southern California. T…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angeles_National_Forest
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Tongass National Forest () in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at 16.7 million acres (26,100 sq mi; 6,800,000 ha; 68,000 km2), an expanse larger than 10 U.S. states and 75 U.N.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongass_National_Forest
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 11: “The gang operates through local cliques, including the Fulton clique in the San Fernando Valley and the Francis cliq around MacArthur Park”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries for 'MSN' and 'Chalatenango' and does not mention the Fulton or Francis cliques in the San Fernando Valley or MacArthur Park.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chalatenango (Spanish pronunciation: [tʃalateˈnaŋɡo]) is a department of El Salvador located in the northwest of the country. The department's capital city is the city of Chalatenango, which shares th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalatenango_Department
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable alumni of Arizona State University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arizona_State_Universi…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Delta Gamma is a North American women's fraternity. It was established at the Lewis School in Oxford, Mississippi in 1873 and has since chartered chapters in the United States and Canada. The fraterni…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Delta_Gamma_chapters
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 12: “In April 2017, Guzman and co-conspirators targeted another man who had fled El Salvador without permission while under investigation by MS-13 for allegedly cooperating with law enforcement.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results to support or refute the claim regarding the April 2017 target from El Salvador.
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Claim 13: “the group attacked him with machetes before dismembering his body, removing his heart, and throwing remains into a canyon.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly describe the victim being attacked with machetes, dismembered, and having his heart removed before being dumped in a canyon.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — - Several members of the notorious MS-13 gang have been charged in Los Angeles for their role in multiple grisly murders, including the machete killing of a rival gang member who was dismembered and h…
https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/17/gang-carved-mans-heart-defaci…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Six people attacked the victim with machetes, dismembered him and then dumped his body parts in a canyon after one of them allegedly cut his heart out. In another instance, the gang even set upon a ho…
https://gulfnews.com/world/americas/ms-13-gang-members-charg…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador and other central American countries.MS-13 members caused the victim to lose consciousness, …
https://www.atf.gov/news/press-releases/annapolis-ms-13-gang…
schedule
Claim 14: “In November, five additional MS-13 members were convicted in related murders tied to efforts to gain rank within the gang”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 15: “The final murder took place in June 2017.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 16: “The verdicts against Angel Amadeo Guzman, 31, of Panorama City; Fernando Garcia Parada, 28, of Panorama City; Edgard Velasquez, 43, of Reseda; and Jose Jonathan Castillo, 34, of Koreatown were all returned Thursday.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent news sources (MyNewsLA, CaliforniaToday, and another web result) list the exact names, ages, and residences of the four defendants and confirm the verdict was returned on June 4 (a Thursday in 2026, per the provided evidence dates).
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Club Deportivo Luis Ángel Firpo (often abbreviated to Firpo) is a professional football club based in Usulután, El Salvador, that currently plays in the Primera División de El Salvador. Founded as Tec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.D._Luis_Ángel_Firpo
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Puerto_Ricans
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine professional football club based in Buenos Aires, who currently play in the Argentine Primera División. River Plate entered the Primera División in their fift…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_River_Plate_players
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.