Ms-13 Leader Pleads Guilty in Case Involving 8 Murders, Including Deaths of 2 Girls on Long Island

Accused MS-13 gang member Alexi Saenz is escorted by FBI agents in Central Islip, N.Y., on March 2, 2017. James Carbone/Newsday via AP

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y.—A leader of an MS-13 gang clique in New York pleaded guilty Wednesday to racketeering in a case involving eight murders, including the 2016 killings of two high school girls who were hacked and beaten as they strolled through their leafy, suburban neighborhood on Long Island.

Alexi Saenz, 29, said little as he entered the plea in federal court in Central Islip. His lawyer read a statement in which Mr. Saenz admitted ordering or approving the killings of perceived rivals and people who had disrespected or feuded with members of his clique.