LOS ANGELES – Twenty two members of the Los Angeles arm of the MS-13 gang have been indicted in the alleged brutal murders of seven people over two years, according to the Department of Justice.

The 12-count indictment, unsealed on Tuesday, charges 22 gang members with federal racketeering. In a press conference U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna claimed gang members dismembered and attacked victims with machetes in the Angeles National Forest.

Several MS-13 leaders were charged after allegedly orchestrating multiple murders targeting a rival gang. A homeless man who was living in a park controlled by MS-13 was among the murder victims, along with people believed to be working with police.

A subset of the gang, the Fulton clique, operates out of the San Fernando Valley. They are believed to admit young Central American immigrants who were “required to kill an MS-13 rival or someone perceived to be adverse to MS-13,” states the indictment.

Another murder victim is believed be a rival gang member who defaced MS-13 graffiti. The victim was taken to the Angeles National Park where he was attacked with a machete by six MS-13 members. The indictment claims the victim was dismembered by the gang members.

During the past year, 18 of the defendants were arrested for state and federal charges. Three of the defendants were arrested over the past few days with one found in Oklahoma.

The racketeering charges allege the gang members transported $1.22 million in narcotics violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

“We have now taken off the streets nearly two dozen people associated with the most violent arm of MS-13 in Los Angeles, where the gang is believed to have killed 24 people over the past two years,” said United States Attorney Nick Hanna.