18th Street Gang Member Who Was Paid ‘Peace Ambassador’ for City Arrested for Illegally Possessing Body Armor Near MacArthur Park

LOS ANGELES - A convicted murderer, whom law enforcement believes is an active member of the 18th Street gang while being paid with City of Los Angeles funds to work as a "Peace Ambassador," was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with illegally possessing two body armor plates near the city's drug-and-crime-infested MacArthur Park.

Michael Angel Alvarez, 41, a.k.a. "Diablo," of Westlake, is charged with possession of body armor by a violent felon.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Alvarez is a convicted gang murderer who represents himself as working for Healing Urban Barrios, a Lincoln Heights-based organization that contracted with the city for its Peace Ambassador program that is run in the city's Council District 1, which includes MacArthur Park. He has represented himself as a member of that organization through clothing he wears.

The Peace Ambassador program is described on a city website as "a new initiative to prevent violence before it starts and to support Angelenos in moments of crisis."

Each Peace Ambassador team "consists of two unarmed workers who have lived experience in the justice or gang systems and are trained in violence prevention and trauma-informed care," according to a city website.

The city has agreed to appropriate $450,000 from its general fund between June 2024 and May 2027 "[t]o defray operation costs of expenditures incurred with the unique services provided by Healing Urban Barrios for their services provided as Peace Ambassadors," court documents state.

Also, according to the agreement, the city may immediately terminate the contract if a Peace Ambassador is convicted of an "Act of Moral Turpitude," including "crimes involving weapons."

Healing Urban Barrios paid Alvarez a total of $58,156 in 2025.

Alvarez's criminal history includes a 2002 conviction for first-degree murder for which he was sentenced to 50 years to life in state prison, but was released after serving 24 years' imprisonment, and an April 2025 felony conviction for being a prisoner in possession of a weapon.

Law enforcement believes Alvarez is still involved in gang activity because of jailhouse telephone calls in which he discussed assaulting individuals for breaking gang rules.

On May 18, two uniformed police officers responded to a call for backup related to a stolen vehicle investigation near MacArthur Park. As the officers were leaving, they noticed Alvarez standing on a corner looking at them and they believed he might be a wanted person.

Officers detained Alvarez, who later told them he was a "CRT," which the officers believed was a reference to the Los Angeles Mayor's Crisis Response Team. A search of Alvarez's car resulted in the seizure of two body armor plates in the trunk. The plates are from Las Vegas and are marketed as "the highest protection level available on the civilian market," the affidavit states.

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Alvarez would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

The FBI is investigating this matter with the Los Angeles Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations providing assistance.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. The HSTF utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

Assistant United States Attorney Jena A. MacCabe of the Major Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.