Federal agents arrested dozens of alleged Mexican Mafia associates across Southern California on Thursday in a massive gang crackdown.
Law enforcement apprehended 26 alleged gang members and associates Thursday morning, a U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Central District of California told the Daily Caller. Officials have 45 defendants in custody and are pursuing two fugitives, the spokesperson said. Three federal indictments led to the arrest of multiple alleged gang members and associates Thursday morning, with 12 additional defendants already in state custody, according to a USAO statement earlier Thursday.
The operation targeted Orange County. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said officials have targeted 47 individuals in total in a press conference.
“Gang members who murder, extort, kidnap, and traffic drugs and firearms are a menace to our communities and our way of life,” Essayli said in a statement. “Today’s arrests highlight the continuing cooperation between federal and local law enforcement against violent felons and our unyielding determination to crack down on organized crime in our prisons and our streets.” (RELATED: Kash Patel Announces Takedown Of Notorious Street Gang Nationwide)
A 66-count indictment accuses inmate Luis Cardenas, 48, of running the Mexican Mafia’s Orange County operations from Ironwood State Prison between June 2024 and April 2026, according to the USAO. Prosecutors alleged Cardenas communicated through an encrypted app on smuggled cell phones to direct operations. Defendants face allegations including racketeering, drug trafficking, kidnapping and conspiracy to run an illegal gambling venture.
OPERATION GANGSTER’S PARADISE:@FBILosAngeles executed 30 pre-dawn raids arresting 30 alleged members of the Mexican Mafia in Southern California.
Alleged murderers, drug dealers, and racketeers all taken down.
This group is also known as “La Eme,” the “gang of gangs,” known…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 23, 2026
Matthew Kundrat, 29, and Manuel Ramos, 45, allegedly murdered a victim at a gang-controlled Anaheim, California, motel in February 2025 to secure entry into the Mexican Mafia, according to the USAO. Both face mandatory life sentences or the death penalty if convicted on charges of committing a violent crime in aid of a racketeering activity.
Law enforcement has captured 25 firearms, 8.8 pounds of fentanyl, 120 pounds of methamphetamine, 6.6 pounds of cocaine, two pounds of heroin and over $30,000 in cash over the course of the investigation, the USAO alleged.
FBI Director Kash Patel touted the operation on social media, writing that “[a]lleged murderers, drug dealers, and racketeers” were “all taken down.” He described La Eme as the “gang of gangs” with influence over most Hispanic street gangs in California.
“This type of criminal activity has a direct impact on our neighborhoods and our residents,” Anaheim Police Chief Manny Cid said, according to the USAO.