Two men the feds say are members of the international criminal street gang MS-13 have been fingered as culpable in the 2010 murder of an Allston man under a Chelsea bridge.

Adam “Pelon” Rodriguez, 33, and William “Humilde” Pineda Portillo, 30, were charged in a superseding indictment in federal court in Boston. Rodriguez was arrested Wednesday and is being detained ahead of a hearing set for Thursday. Pineda Portillo was arrested in May 2022 while allegedly crossing the border into Texas and returned to Boston.

MS-13, also known as La Mara Salvatrucha, has deep roots in El Salvador but has transnational operations with cliques pushing its reach throughout the U.S. and other countries like Honduras and Guatemala, according to prosecutors and countless reports.

Prosecutors say that Rodriquez and other gang members murdered Joaquin Aguilar, of Allston, on Dec. 18, 2010, in Chelsea, according to the indictment. The local members of the gang are also charged with several other attempted murders in the area.

The allegations came about, according to the indictment, from audio recordings of a gang meeting in East Boston held in Jan. 26, 2011, when a voice allegedly matching Rodriguez’ acknowledged his participation in the murder. Rodriguez was allegedly beaten, according to the audio recording, for some 13 seconds by other gang members for fleeing Massachusetts after the murder without their permission.

Pineda Portillo’s alleged involvement comes from the feds’ assertion that a car belonging to his father was used in transporting gang members to and from the murder scene.

Rodriguez and Pineda Portillo are charged with RICO, or racketeering, conspiracy. The charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.