BOSTON — An illegal immigrant from El Salvador and member of MS-13 pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in three murders across Massachusetts and Virginia — including one where he helped beat, strangle, and dismember a victim after eating dinner with him, and another where he shot his own cousin at a family party.

Franklin Antonio Amaya Paredes, 28, known as "Mosca" or "Tony," had been living unlawfully in New Bedford. He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani to racketeering involving murder, conspiracy, and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering. Sentencing is set for July 10.

"This defendant — an undocumented immigrant who’s been residing unlawfully in our country — admitted to participating in three brutal murders across state lines to advance MS-13’s violent agenda and be rewarded within the gang’s ranks," said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley.

On August 25, 2018, Paredes and other members of MS-13’s Uniones Locos Salvatrucha (ULS) clique met in New Bedford to kill an associate from a rival MS-13 faction. MS-13 leadership in El Salvador had approved the hit because they believed the victim had betrayed the gang.

They ate dinner together at an MS-13 member’s home. Then Paredes and the others beat and strangled the victim to death. They dismembered his body and buried the remains in a nearby wooded area.

The victim’s remains have never been found.

Paredes was promoted within MS-13 for his role in the killing.

In June 2019, Paredes and other ULS members armed themselves with firearms and machetes and traveled to the Hunters Woods area of Reston, Virginia. They murdered the first man they found — shooting him and slashing him with a machete. Paredes and others waited in nearby cars to assist. Afterward, the group drove to a hotel and recounted the details of the killing.

On July 14, 2020, Paredes shot and killed a man near Horseneck Road in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The victim was his own cousin.

Text messages showed that Paredes invited him to a family party. That’s where he was murdered.

After being charged by state authorities, Paredes admitted that he killed his cousin because the cousin had failed to "check in" with MS-13 leadership when he arrived in the New Bedford area from El Salvador and had done a "poor job growing MS-13 in Southeastern Massachusetts."

While in state custody, Paredes also conspired to kill a witness.

MS-13’s ULS clique operated across northern Virginia and southeastern Massachusetts. The group was responsible for multiple murders and distributed marijuana and cocaine in the D.C. metro area. Drug money funded MS-13 operations both in the U.S. and in El Salvador.

The case is part of the DOJ’s Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative targeting illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations. Suffolk County DA Kevin Hayden and Bristol County DA Thomas Quinn were among those involved in the announcement.

Paredes faces a mandatory minimum of life in prison.