Federal agents launched a sweeping crackdown on a notorious Los Angeles gang this week, arresting a woman investigators say helped run one of the city’s most violent criminal networks.
According to the New York Post, Keiko Gonzalez, 59 — known by several nicknames including “Moms,” “La Señora,” and “The Queen” — was taken into custody during a series of pre-dawn FBI raids across Los Angeles, authorities said Thursday.
Gonzalez is accused of overseeing operations for the 18th Street Gang while acting on behalf of her husband, a longtime Mexican Mafia member who remains behind bars in a California state prison.
Photographs taken on Thursday showed Gonzalez smiling and appearing to clap as she was escorted in front of members of the media after her arrest.
The arrest was part of “Operation Dead Horse,” a large-scale federal effort targeting members and associates of the 18th Street Gang. Authorities said 12 suspects connected to the organization were arrested during the operation, while six others remain at large.
Investigators believe the gang maintained control over areas around MacArthur Park and fueled an open-air drug trade operating from tents within the local homeless population.
Federal officials said the investigation had been underway for years.
“For far too long, 18th Street and other criminals have been allowed to turn one of the city’s most beautiful public spaces into a crime-infested pit,” First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said.
“That ends today. We are committed to eliminating violent organized crime and open-air drug markets from Los Angeles.”
Essayli added that the 18th Street Gang is “one of the most violent gangs in the western hemisphere.”
Prosecutors allege Gonzalez played a key role in enforcing the gang’s operations, including collecting money and enforcing discipline among members.
Authorities also claim she ordered a gang hit in 2022 after a drug dealer connected to the operation allegedly refused to pay what the gang considered required “taxes.” Two associates allegedly carried out the shooting.
According to prosecutors, Gonzalez managed criminal activities on behalf of her husband, Jorge Gonzales, and other Mexican Mafia leaders who remain incarcerated.
Investigators claim Jorge Gonzales communicated with gang members through a secret cellphone hidden inside his prison block.
The 70-year-old inmate, known among gang members as “White Horse,” has been in prison since 1980 after being convicted of murder when he was 23.
Three years later, authorities say he killed another inmate at Folsom State Prison. In 1990, he was transferred to Pelican Bay State Prison, where he spent 25 years in solitary confinement before eventually being moved to High Desert State Prison in Susanville.
The raids that led to Gonzalez’s arrest unfolded across Los Angeles in the early morning hours.
Federal agents executed multiple warrants, including one operation at an apartment complex in eastern Los Angeles that investigators had been monitoring during the long-running probe.
Among the others arrested were Edward Escalante, 49, also known as “Toro,” Edward Alvarenga, 27, known as “Tito,” George Carillo, 60, known as “Chuco,” Carlos Beltran, 48, Felipe De Los Angeles, 51, known as “Indio,” and Edwin Martinez, 32, known as “Dreamer.”
During the investigation, authorities seized more than 175 pounds of methamphetamine and fentanyl, roughly $80,000 in cash, and six firearms.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jena McCabe said the operation aimed to dismantle violent criminal activity tied to the gang.
“The goal is to stop the violence and also stop the trafficking of dangerous drugs like fentanyl,” McCabe said.
