Mara Salvatrucha, also known as "MS-13", is an international gang of violent criminals that originated in Los Angeles, California in the early 1980s. The gang was comprised of Salvadorian immigrants who immigrated to the United States after the Central American civil wars that took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Originally the gang's main purpose was to maintain a protective environment for Salvadorian Immigrants from older, more structured gangs in the area. These other gangs were mainly composed of African Americans and Mexicans, so there was no possibility of becoming a member. Due to high deportation rates of MS-13 members during the 1980s and 1990s, influence and size of the organization in Central America has grown exponentially. …show more content…
According to the 2011 National Gang Assessment, MS-13 is estimated to have around 30,000 to 50,000 active members and associate members around the world. 8,000 to 10,000 of the members live in the US. Moving into the early 2000s, the gang has expanded to areas of Washington D.C. as well. More specifically, the Langley Park and Takoma Park areas. In 2004, the FBI launched the MS-13 National Gang Task Force to combat the growing public fear of the gang's brutal crimes. The Task Force also began teaming with law enforcement in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. Where MS-13's influence was strongest. The gang quickly rose to prominence in Los Angeles due to their brutal messages and vicious crimes. Quickly becoming one of the most feared gangs in America, their victims have been found dismembered by machetes. Many other cases with disturbing details have been reported, but I will spare them. The acts of violence committed by MS-13 have had such an impact, that President Donald Trump has even stated his distaste for them. Stating on July 28th, 2017, a single day after 113 suspected MS-13 gang members were arrested in El Salvador by the local authorities, that it is his goal to "eradicate" MS-13. The gang mainly employs male members. A member is required to never show weakness, so any women brought into the gang are mainly used as drug mules and prostitutes. The women are associated with certain members are usually treated as the property of said member. The ownership is displayed usually through a tattoo or another type of permanent marking. As for ethnicity, MS-13 only incorporates Salvadorians, Hondurans, and Guatemalans into their ranks.
Although there have been a few cases of Mexicans joining their ranks as well. A large portion of MS-13 members cover themselves in tattoos representing MS-13 and their achievements within the gang. Common tattoos include the "Devil Horns", "MS", "Salvatrucha", the name of their smaller clique within the gang. Minors are usually the suspects arrested for the killings attributed to MS-13. Many school districts were reluctant to admit minors with no parents into school when they initially arrived from Central America. This just results in the child being left at home to be vulnerable to MS-13 recruitment. Due to the gang's large increase in size and steady spread of influence, people thought MS-13 was pro-actively recruiting their members. This turned out to be false, and due to the overwhelming vulnerability felt by community members and the news attention garnered by the gang there has never been a lack of new recruits. If the gang ever wishes to induct a new member, they will offer easy access to drugs and alcohol. The gang will also accelerate the time line for a member's trial period or even skip requirements to allow easier entry. But these are usually the …show more content…
exceptions. Although financial gain does play a factor in youth joining MS-13, the gang has made it clear that group cohesion is valued higher than the money that can be made. Ambitious individuals within the gang usually avoid other members if they wish to pursue personal rewards. The first step of joining MS-13 is the recruit's decision.
It's up to them if they'd like to join. Once the recruit informs the gang they'd like to join, they will then be put on a trial period and will conduct lookout services, provide intelligence, and other basic tasks for the gang. During this time, they'll be called a "paro" or "bandera". The second step involves becoming promoted to a "chequeo". The recruits will still be in the process of becoming a member, but they will be required to perform increasingly criminal tasks. Some recruits can spend years as "Chequeos", depending on the area they're in. Those who have been "Chequeos" longer than others are given respect by new recruits for their time commitment. In any case, at this point the Chequeo is seen as being associated with the gang. Formal entry into MS-13 relies on passing a final exam, which can vary depending on where you are. In El Salvador, a chequeo must commit a murder for MS-13. In America, he'd only become a full member after attacking a rival gang member. The gang will view a member differently depending on where they went through their initiation. For example, those who take their exam in El Salvador are viewed as more hardened than
others. Lastly, after the years long trial process and compromising final exam, the chequeo is then brought into the gang via a violent ceremony known as "el brinco" also known as "the beating". The duration of the beating can be stretched into minutes; depending on the person counting the seconds, the clique initiating, and the person initiated. Only after the beating are they considered "homies" or full-fledged members of MS-13. Shortly after, the initiated member is given a nickname or "placazo" and the name will always have some connection to the clique that initiated the member. Once the member becomes a homie, they can extort, kill in the name of MS-13, move and hold firearms or other weapons, and many other gang-related activities. MS-13 do not train or employ specialists like assassins or treasurers, instead they have multiple members who become whatever the gang needs them to be at that time. The shared cohesion required and displayed by the gang does pose a problem however, due to the spread of information and witnesses involved who could potentially turn into informants. Crimes usually committed by MS-13 include, but aren't limited to, murder, theft, extortion, smuggling, money laundering, battery, and drug trafficking just to name a few of the cases that have been investigated since MS-13's inception. The most common crimes committed by MS-13 are assault, murder, and kidnapping. Since 2003, there have been more than a few hundred public cases of criminal acts committed by MS-13 across North and Central America. Although, over the past 20 years MS-13 has been unable to effectively enter the drug market in America. Often attempting to set up a large infrastructure to no avail, or even at times offering their services of distribution to other gangs. These offers are usually refused due to the gang's violent history or rival affiliations. According to a formal article on the InSight Crime website, due to the overpowering influence of MS-13 and the brutal crimes they committed in the past, their process of promoting gang participation is very straight forward. People living within a MS-13 dominated community feel trapped and overwhelmingly vulnerable, they are ruled by fear. This, along with the over glamorization of criminal acts within pop culture, pushes young people with not many options to join MS-13 to provide some protection for their family and themselves. To prevent the dominion of MS-13 and the fear they inspire, we must improve the communities these people live in. The creation of gangs in lower end community's stems from the notion that these people didn't feel safe in their own neighborhood growing up. Take away MS-13's anger at the system that placed them in these lower end neighborhoods and there's no reason left for them to fight against society.
The kids became gang members for many reasons. Some needed to find what their place was in the world, and they needed to know who they were as human beings. Joining the gang gave them a feeling of being involved in something and made them feel better about themselves. They felt that as a gang member they received the attention, emotional support, and understanding that they couldn’t get from their actual family members at home.
In the documentary of “The World’s Most Dangerous Gang” it reveals how it’s group gets followers. Children can be as young as eight and be recruited into MS 13. The name MS 13 is Mara Salvatrucha 13. Mara is the Spanish word for “group” or “clique”. Salvatrucha stands for “street smart”. The number 13 was chosen out of respect and because “M” is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet. When children or adults are adopted to this group they have to first go through the initiation process. This ritual consists of being beat up by members of MS 13 for thirty seconds.
The MS13 is a perfect example of a counterculture. They are a world within themselves. The gang is very organized and structured; there is hierarchy with the gang. There is a significant amount of money flow within the gang. A few ways the gang obtains money is by drug dealing, illegal weapons, vendors pay the gang to work in their territories and for their protection, and drug dealers also pay the gang to earn the right to sell drugs in their territories. There are laws and rules that a gang member must abide by. One very strict rule for a gang member is silence. If a gang member becomes informant and it is found out that they are, it will more than likely result in death for the informant. The breaking of laws and rules are punishable, even by death. They have a law system and law enforcement of their own. Check courting is a punishment served by the gang to gang members who break the laws of the gang. There are initiations one must endure to become a member of the gang. Jumping in is one of the initiations, a brutal thirteen second beating by multiple people at the same time. (World’s Most Dangerous Gang) There is a communication system within the gang. They use stacking to communicate, tattoos, graffiti, and an overall dialect that is unique to the gang. This counterculture exists internationally inside and outside of prison walls. Within the gang there are individual cliques, but when threatened they will come together and fight alongside one another. It is instilled in a gang member to kill to maintain territory and to acquire new territories. T...
Many join the "gang" to feel apart of something because they feel that they do not belong anywhere else. Then others join because they like looking "different"." White Supremacy on the Rise. by Mike Harpin) You can spot a Skinhead by their style.
Franco, C., (2007, May). The MS-13 and 18th street gangs:Emerging transnational gang threats, Retrieved from http://opencrs.com/document/RL34233/2007-11-02/download/1006/.
Introduction The exponential growth of gangs in the Northern Triangle countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras) has led to an epidemic of violence across the region. The two largest and most formidable gangs in the Northern Triangle, the Mara Salvatrucha-13 (MS-13) and the Barrio 18, wage battles against one another to control territory and defend against incursions. In 2011, Honduras led the world in homicides, with 91.6 per 100,000 people; rates were also alarmingly high in El Salvador and Guatemala, at 69.1 and 38.5 per 100,000 people, respectively. In El Salvador, a country with a population of only 6.2 million people, 4,354 were the victims of homicide in 2011 alone, with the Catholic Church estimating that more than 1,300 of these deaths were the direct result of gang violence. To counteract the growth of the gang phenomenon, during the 2000s the Northern Triangle countries favored a mano dura (iron fist) approach to dealing with the increasing belligerence of gangs.
Morch, S., & Andersen, H. (2012). Becoming a Gang Member: Youth Life and Gang Youth. Online Submission
Our team presentation focused on three Latino gangs, MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), the Mexican Mafia and the Los Surenos gang. My part of the presentation was to provide information on the type of crime these three gangs are known to commit. The crimes committed by the MS-13 gang are varied, violent, and take place all over the country. The FBI even put together a task force called the MS-13 National Gang Task Force in December of 2004 to try to put a stop to this gang’s activities. (www.fbi.gov). Los Surenos or Sur-13, originally based in Los Angeles, has also branched out from turf wars with rival gangs to “for profit”, violent crimes across the country. The Mexican Mafia has a similar story to tell as well in regards to gang crimes, which again range from respect crimes, and retaliatory violence to crimes for profit.
The third reality factor is that the gangs in Central America differ from each other in significant ways. Although most gangs are involved in human smuggling and drug retail, MS-13 has a solidified relationship with “transportista networks and are reaching out to Mexican TCOs.” Gangs in Honduras control less territory that are significant to the TCOs are on the “sidelines of the drug trade by local and regional criminal groups.” MS-13 in El Salvador is expanding their weapon quantity, moving from handguns to automatic rifles like AK-47s, grenades, rocket propelled grenade launchers, and more. However, most of these weapons are possessed through theft or purchasing them from the military. Also, gangs take advantage of the government gun-buy-back programs to trade in old weapons for higher quality weapons.
There are few known active members of street gangs attending district schools. The gang activity that is seen is that of ‘want-to-be’ gang members who are influenced by family members who are involved in street gang activity. Other ‘want-to-be’ members are often swayed by popular culture. Primarily, school administrators and district officials encounter smaller groups of students, anywhere from 3 to 10 students,from elementary to senior high, who band together and give the group a name. The group serves as a support system for members. These groups tend to be fluid and can disband as quickly as they formed. Most of these groups are benign and caused few difficulties. On occasion there have been groups that have caused greater disruption including violence, intimidation, and drug use. This has led to suspension and student transfer. When a student is identified as a street gang member or has shown signs of street gang influence the first intervention the district takes is to inform the parents of the individual, awareness is
Expanding, dominating, and earning respect are primary goals for various of gangs. Considering this, none of these goals can be accomplished without any criminal gang activity occurring. When a criminal organization starts building up a foundation their objective is first to increase their numbers and their territory. According to United gangs, for the most part of the 90’s the Fresno Bulldogs recruited in large groups of members, the gang slowly moved from their hometown and colonized the neighboring areas. Having a strong foundation built lead to the Fresno Bulldogs needing to find a main source of revenue to bring money into the organization. The result of the main source to generate income was illegal trafficking of drugs and other narcotics. According to United gangs, “As the gang kept expanding, street thugs were hired to deal the
The three cousins’ names were Cruz, whom was the artist, Paco, who went to the marinas and then became a cop after the gang life, and Miklo, whom gained control and stayed in the gang life when he went to jail. Initiation into the gang was pretty much how most gangs do it. The guy that wanted to be in the gang had to stand up to one of their enemy gang members. After they do that crime, the rest of the Rattos locos gang members come together and do a “baptism” for the new member. They take the side of the new member’s hand, closest to the thumb, and puts a symbol on the hand. Also, they put salt on the cut making it seem like a baptism. The member that was getting initiated into the gang at the beginning of the movie was Miklo. Cruz and Paco would call Miklo milkweed, white boy, and Chicano because he was half caucasian, half mexican. Then after the “baptism”, the gang members would throw a party. This gang does not like any other gangs that are in their heritage. Rattos Locos usually have graffiti everywhere to tell where their territory
They were gangsters that caused problems for the community. These gangsters would go up to kids and try and jump them into their gang. For them, the more members they had, the more “territory they had.” One problem that major cities around the world have is gangs. Most of these gangs are made up of juvenile delinquents looking for trouble.
...y and their faces. They also use their own sign language on their bodies. The MS-13 is well known for their violent Behaviors. There are 30,000 to 50,000 MS-13 members and associate members that is worldwide. 8,000 to 10,000 that lives in the United States of America.
The Bandidos motorcycle gang has had a decades-long stranglehold on supremacy in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This gang has becoming an increased threat not only to Albuquerque, but the nation. Here in the five years I have lived here, there have been many issues with the Bandidos. Shootouts have occurred because other motorcycle gangs like the Vagos are threatening their turf. One member got shot like two years ago and the city was chaos because of threats and biker gangs came from all over for revenge. Could not really find out how one can be recruited into the Bandidos. Stealing bikes is a very well-known criminal activity they commit. Transporting and distribution of illicit drugs is primary source of income (Proctor, 2013). They do a majority