Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)

The gang problem has become pervasive in all types ofcommunities nationwide. Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) has garnered extensive media attention and is considered to be one of the fastest-growing and most violent ethnic international gangs in North America. There are very few empirical studies to support its reputation, but journalists have raised concern, and Congress is actively targeting this gang. MS-13 reportedly has managed to find and recruit members in many states, including Alaska, Oregon, Texas, Nevada, Maryland, as well as in Mexico and Central America.

Mara Salvatrucha has been recognized by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies as among the most powerful yet loosely structured gangs in the northern hemisphere, and it is responsible for brutal gang wars, drug smuggling, and illegal transport of aliens across the U.S.-Mexico borders. The gang is accused of seeking alliances with organized crime entities, and members are reportedly responsible for carrying out criminal activities such as protecting territories, facilitating drugs and weapons, and human trafficking. Financial gain is the primary goal shared by these alliances, and relationships among gangs are becoming more sophisticated, thus providing access to technology and weapons that increase gangs' ability to carry out lethal acts against a larger section of society.

The gang reportedly originated in El Salvador in the 1970s as a result of a civil war between government forces and an upper-middle-class revolutionary group, Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (in Spanish, the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberación Nacional, or FMNL), which claimed to represent those individuals in the bottom social and economic tiers of their nation. By the end of the civil war in El Salvador, more than 70,000 people were dead and another 900,000 were displaced (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2005). Thousands of these Salvadorans fled to the United States and migrated to largely Hispanic areas of southern Los Angeles. Most of these areas in Los Angeles were already inundated with powerful Mexican gangs who preyed on weaker cultural groups. So as not to be victimized, former members of the FMNL and other refugees formed a mara or posse, which was composed of salvatru-chas or “street-tough Salvadorans,” becoming Mara Salvatrucha in the early 1980s.

Government officials have expressed extreme concern about Mara Salvatrucha because of its ties to powerful ex-paramilitary members in El Salvador, which make it a truly international gang. In the mid-1990s, changes in U.S. immigration laws allowed deportations of convicted criminals, including many gang members. Salvadoran officials claim that many deported gang members returned to the disorganized neighborhoods of El Salvador and other Central American countries in search of eager converts. Youthful recruits from severely impoverished neighborhoods found discipline, purpose, and income. Many then found their way back into the United States illegally, thus increasing the problem in the United States to pandemic proportions.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation indicates that although the majority of members come from [Page 479]Hispanic cultures, MS-13 has all but lifted the ethnic barriers and now includes African Americans as well. The majority of its members are between the ages of 11 and 40, and they are easily identified through their very visible tattoos. Perhaps one of the biggest problems in ameliorating the influence of this gang is the fact that they are very fluid and operate with no centralized leadership.

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