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The MS-13 gang, aka Mara Salvatrucha 13, is a street gang involved in several criminal activities in the United States and in El Salvador. It is composed of mostly Hispanic members. The MS-13 gang has cliques, or factions, located throughout the United States and is unique in that it largely retains ties to its El Salvador counterparts. With cliques in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachussetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Virginia, as well as Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and several other South American countries, the MS-13 gang is truly "international". Gang members, who sport numerous tattoos on their bodies and faces, wear blue and white colors taken from the Salvadoran flag. Their membership is estimated to total over 36,000 in Honduras alone. Members typically range in age from 11 to 40 years old. Their progressive increase in violent activities and careless disregard for the law (threats and attacks against law enforcement officials is common in El Salvador), have taken the attention of the media. MS-13 criminal activities include drug, firearm and people smuggling, hired assassinations, theft, drug sales, arson and other crimes. Their activities and status are rumoured to have caught the eye of the FBI who recently initiated widescale raids against known and suspected gang members, netting hundreds of arrests across the country. The gang is known for its inclination towards, and readiness to carry out, violent attacks and reprisals. Members often arrive in the United States with fighting skills gained in military training or, conversely, settle temporarily in American cities with numerous active gangs (such as Los Angeles, California to "learn the trade". In March 2004, the Maldon Institute, a Washington, DC based think tank, released a report detailing the methods MS-13 used, including its increasingly typical (and disturbing) calling card - leaving behind dismembered corpses, complete with the decapitated head, at the scene of murders they committed. Often, a grim note is attached to the body. The gang's California body is said to have been founded by childhood friends Julio Cesar and Ernesto "Smokey" Miranda. . The gang formed in the Rampart area of Los Angeles, where Mexican-American gangs would prey on Salvadoran immigrants who came to the U.S. escaping the Salvadoran civil war. MS-13's goal was to protect themselves from the 18th St. Gang, which is their main rival.
Name and influences The word mara means gang in Caliche (Salvadoran slang) and is taken from marabunta, a local type of ant known for its fierce behavior and defense of the colony. Salvatrucha is a portmanteau of Salvadoran and trucha (literally trout) a local Salvadoran-Spanish word for being alert, vigilant, at the ready (usually entailing preparedness for crime, or abuse from police): "El significado de salvatrucha es ponerse listo, trucha, abusado" •. Mara Salvatrucha is also commonly translated as "Salvadoran Gang," identifying the gang's roots in guerilla-trained partisans within El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. Members of this group control rails and roadways in these areas, transporting contraband, weapons, illegals, and other cargo throughout the Americas. The gang's name is commonly abbreviated as MS-13, Mara, MS, and is composed of mostly Salvadorans. At first the gang was called MSS (Mara Salvatrucha Stoners). When the gang first started, they were into heavy metal and punk rock but later adopted the "cholo" way of dress. The gang is mostly made up of men and boys, and while some girls join as well, this is rare. The gang originated among Salvadoran immigrants living in Los Angeles and Orange County (primarily Santa Ana and Anaheim) but it has since spread to other parts of North America. It has spread to 33 US states. Other locations of MS-13 activity are Philadelphia, New York City, Long Island, and Tampa Bay. It emerged in El Savador in the 1980s during El Salvador's violent civil war and is estimated as of 2005 to have 50,000 members in Central America and between 8,000 and 10,000 members in the United States. Although founded among immigrants in the United States, Mara Salvatrucha now has its largest presence in El Salvador. Much of this is due to the United States' policy of deporting convicted members back to their country of origin. Back in El Salvador, these deportees have recruited more members, including new members who emigrate illegally to the United States. The gangs have moved from beyond their Salvadoran, Nicaraguan, Mexican, and Los Angeles origins and can be found in Belize, western Honduras, Guatemala, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, and over 30 U.S. states, most significantly in Washington, D.C., in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, Dallas, Texas, Long Island, New York, the New York City area, and in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Some sets have even been found in Spain, Italy, and Belgium. Not many of the founding members remain, and the original purpose of forming the MS-13 has become lost to the gang's membership. Many original members belonged to left-wing insurgent groups and right-wing death squads that disintegrated following the end of the war. Notes | ||||||||
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