Feds Target MacArthur Park Drug Market

The federal takedown, dubbed "Operation Dead Horse," resulted in seven grand jury indictments and the arrests of 12 alleged members and associates of the 18th Street gang. Six other suspects remain at large, with authorities believing some may be in Mexico and Guatemala. At the heart of the operation is the arrest of Keiko Marie Gonzalez, 59, also known as "Moms" and "La Reina." Prosecutors allege she was the gang's street boss, taking orders directly from an incarcerated Mexican Mafia member and holding the authority to order murders. The indictments allege the gang used tents to blend in with the MacArthur Park homeless population, concealing an open-air drug market that was part of a larger distribution network across Skid Row, Hollywood, and the San Fernando Valley. During the investigation, authorities seized over 175 pounds of methamphetamine and fentanyl. On the day of the arrests alone, an additional 10 pounds of fentanyl and $80,000 in cash were confiscated. Charges include racketeering, extortion, and murder. Specifically, Gonzalez is accused of ordering the July 2022 murder of a drug trafficker who failed to pay the gang's "taxes." Two other alleged members, George Carillo and Carlos Beltran, are charged with carrying out the killing. This is not the first major federal operation in the area. In 2009, a racketeering indictment charged 43 members and associates of the Columbia Lil' Cycos, an 18th Street clique controlling the park. That case was sparked by the tragic 2007 shooting of a street vendor that resulted in the death of a 3-week-old infant. For decades, the park has been a focal point for both law enforcement and community concern. It was a key area during the LAPD's Rampart scandal in the late 1990s and has been the target of numerous revitalization and policing efforts aimed at curbing the entrenched gang and narcotic activity.