Mafia Vs Ms-13 Essay

In maintaining a blatant disregard for the law, the mob and ms-13 both managed to stir up a substantial amount of problems for the United States. They shared together the notion of coming to be in America because of rampant turmoil in their home countries that called for emigration. During their respective periods of reign, the two groups were responsible for countless acts of violence and illegal activity; albeit for completely different reasons. While the mafia was a participant in illegal conduct for financial motives; ms-13 was a participant for predominantly social reasons including protecting their home turf from rival gangs, bringing down rival gangs, or to acquire more territory. In these varying reasons for perpetrating continuous

criminal acts between the two groups lyes an explanation as to why one became a powerhouse seemingly able to disregard authority with minimal consequence, while the other was just another gang with no measurable success outside the world of violence.
The two groups paths to the United States were the same in the sense that they left negative situations in their origin for an opportunity at a better life, but after that their paths take two different directions once getting to the country.

The italian immigrants that ended up making up the mob left Italy due to a negative way of living under the rule of Benito Mussolini, while the people that began ms-13 emigrated from Salvador as the result of a civil war. Once taking residence in America, the american mafia came to be as a result of the need for a mediating force between Italian immigrants and the government. When the Salvadoran immigrants took refuge in crime-ridden neighborhoods of Los Angeles, some of them banded together to create ms-13 in response to the gangs that were already stirring up trouble in the area. Many of the Salvadorans were war-hardened after their experiences back home and quickly asserted themselves as no gang to take lightly as they gained notoriety for how violent they were. The mob was having its share of success at the beginning of their

existence, but things really took off when Al Capone murdered a fellow member to become the organizations leader. Capone exploited the government’s prohibition of alcohol and directed the mob to start bootlegging operations which turned out to be a huge financial success. During this period, the mafia had a great deal of power and was amassing a great deal of wealth as well. Once Lucky Luciano assumed control following Capone’s imprisonment, internal struggles for power really began which resulted in Luciano killing fellow members Joe the Boss and Salvatore Maranzano. Once Luciano was no longer leader, the organization began to decline due to further “mafia wars” for power between members, and also to a significant effort by the government to bring down the group. After ms-13 had its share of success defeating gangs in L.A., the gang amassed over 8000 members in the u.s. and became transnational, attaining more power in poorly governed central and south american countries than it could in the U.S.
The organizational structure of the mob and ms-13 holds little resemblance to each other.

The mob’s structure is composed of different families occupying power, while a person in one particular family is considered the overall leader. Every large city had its own mafia sanction, with each sanction controlling its own business operations. In general, the mob had a very strong hierarchal structure. Ms-13 differs from the mob in the sense that they have no official national leadership structure. Cliques in different cities would operate independently of each other and communicate with cliques in different cities, but not generally for the purpose of conducting business operations with one another. There aren't nearly as many fights for internal power in ms-13 as in the mafia though, because ms-13 doesn’t have the strong hierarchal structure that would have positions members would be enticed to fight

for.
The operations of the two groups were highly varying as the mob focused attention towards making money, whereas ms-13 placed attention on dealing with opposing gang members and protecting their territory. It was never about attaining financial prosperity for ms-13, like it was for the mob. What the two did share in common were operations involving drug dealing, prostitution, and the violence towards their enemies. Business operations for ms-13 never got any bigger than drug dealing which is where the mob really surpasses them. In every big city, the mob ran illegal operations, and oftentimes in mob-owned speakeasies, casinos, and nightclubs. The mob’s activities in gambling, bootlegging, protection racketing, drug dealing, amongst other things provided them the financial means to not just live lifestyles ms-13 members could only dream of, but also pay off law enforcement officials (at their peak) to stay out of their way.
In managing to expand from occupying a neighborhood in Los Angeles to 42 states in the country and then evolving into a more sophisticated force in Central and South America; ms-13 displayed a knack for violent behavior that made them more than just “another LA gang”. The mob displayed that same knack for violent behavior but focused it towards business ventures. In this is the most glaring reason as to why the mob become a law-defying terror that grossed millions of dollars during their time on top, while ms-13 was confined to a role as a violent gang lacking sophistication. While ms-13 continues to thrive in central and south american countries, their organizational philosophy will never bring them to the level the mob reached.