With over 70,000 members worldwide Mara Salvatrucha(MS-13) is the most dangerous gang in the world. MS-13 has a tormented founding, which is why they are so dangerous. During the 1970s many Central American countries were engulfed in civil war, such as El Salvador. Refugees fled their home countries and immigrated to cities like Los Angeles. In Los Angeles the new ethnicities, mainly El Salvadorian and Honduran, were persecuted by the already established minorities, African-American and Mexican. In order to protect their livelihoods the immigrants founded MS-13. Quickly, Mara Salvatrucha rose in the ranks of LA’s most dangerous gangs, because the founding members were ex-guerrilla fighters in El Salvador’s civil war. For example, to strike fear into their rivals MS-13 members would use machetes in turf wars. Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational gang, affects homicide rate, drug production, and civic peace in Central America. Members of MS-13 are involved in an assortment of criminal activities. Although, the most harmful is homicide. Mara Salvatrucha uses a variety of weapons to murder people. The most prevalent way to kill a person is through the use of firearms. For example, Honduran authorities estimate that there are 1,800,00 guns in Honduras. Only 600,000 of these guns are registered with the government of Honduras (Lohmuller, 2). With 1,200,000 guns circulating in the honduran black market it is very easy for a gang member to obtain a firearm; making it even easier for a Mara Salvatrucha member to take someone’s life. To prove this point, Michael Lohmuller said, “80% of the murders in Honduras are committed with illegal firearms.” In 2011 the United Nations reported that there are 92 people murdered for every 100,00 people... ... middle of paper ... ...ruary 2014. Caceres, Marco. Honduras Homicide Rate Drops Again. 1 January 2014. Web. 15 March 2014. Lohmuller, Michael. Honduras Transport Extortion Generates $27 Million Annually. 18 January 2014. Web. 10 February 2014. Lohmuller, Michael. Insecurity Fuels illegal Gun Ownership of Over 1 Million. 13 February 2014. Web. 11 February 2014. Lohmuller, Michael. Honduras Cocaine Lab Points to Production Migration. 11 February 2014. Web. 15 March 2014. Lohmuller, Michael. Honduras Criminal Group Using Narcocorridos to Attract Child Recruits. 10 March 2014. WEb. 15 March 2014. Narco Culture. Dir. Schwar, Shaul. Film. 2013. Robbins, Seth. Gang Violence and Extortion Make Taxi Driving High Risk in Honduras. 11 March 2014. Web. 15 March 2014. Stallworth, Leo. FBI Raid Targets Mara Salvatrucha Gang in Los Angeles. 10 December 2013. Web. 1 March 2014.
There were groups such as the Black Panthers, and the US Organization, which were known to have been rivals due to false rumors that had been spread by the government and the media. Black Panthers were known to have offered a more reliable source of protection during this time than the police did for African Americans. Sloan interviews current and former gang members from a variety of gangs spread throughout Los Angeles. He gives us a different perspective on where gangs came from and why they formed. Although they were originally formed to protect African Americans, they have strayed far from where they started.
As a result, the law enforcement officials have proven to have a lack of empathy and the poor connection to their county. Which has provoked many citizens to speak out against law enforcement and in view of the opinion of the newscasters it has “created a climate of fear” and has left the Latin community feeling intimidated and helpless. The government has precautionary reactions to this violence and have observed the organization of MS-13. The video then speaks of the gangs as “domestic terrorists” with the most threatening crimes, such as the piling unsolved homicide cases, which have led to many suspects. Government officials chose to state that these gang members would be eradicated from their community, by remaining fully committed to “finishing the job”.
In countless circumstances, especially in the work force, there are oppressors and there are those who are oppressed against. If one chooses to permit the act of being demoted upon then they will continue to be underestimated and continue to be mistreated. For those who are petrified of speaking out regarding unjust situations they endure, there are people that are willing to promote and try to stop the unjust ways people face when working. Generally in the society we live in today, men do not think women are in any way superior or could make a difference; whether that be in politics or the type of profession that women chooses to practice. Certain people cannot comprehend or step out of this negative critical view point they have towards women because of what they believe is correct and because they picture women as useless objects that should not be taken seriously. You do not hear about many women activists, but there is an abundant amount that actually stepped fourth to alter their community for the ones they care about. Yet Dolores Huerta is a Hispanic female who strived for improving the rules in regards to the way people treat their employers. There was an abundant amount of Mexican-Americans that were being mistreated and were expected to work long periods of hours in the heat, which were farm laborers; all that pain and struggle to receive barely enough to support your family off of. She knew it would take various extents of struggle and sacrifice to reach the goal of altering the union workforce regulations. Dolores Huerta, alongside Cesar Chavez pursued this goal non-violently in order to better the employers because she knew it not only affected them but their families as well. While Dolores Huerta is known as a Hispa...
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.
Dismissed by the police as mere adjuncts to or gofers for male gangs, girl gang members are in fact often as emotionally closed off and dangerous as their male counterparts. Carrying razor blades in their mouths and guns in their jackets for defense, they initiate drive-by shootings, carry out car-jackings, stomp outsiders who stumble onto or dare to enter the neighborhood, viciously retaliate against other gangs and ferociously guard their home turf.
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...
The Lady of Guadalupe is a huge part of the Mexican tradition, and how many people look up to her in a very godly way. She is important, because she reminds people of their appreciation for their own cultures, along with the other cultures that are all over the world. The Lady of Guadalupe is someone that is the exact replica of the Virgin Mary. But, the only difference is, is that the Virgin Mary is a saint that is represented in the European culture, and the Lady of Guadalupe in the Aztec and Native culture of Mexico. The lady of Guadalupe is a positive influence on different religions, especially Christianity.
Like previously mentioned, the Zetas are famous for their brutality and vicious attacks. Most of these have come in the last 5 years as they’ve been at war with rival cartels, the Sinaloas and Gulf Cartels. In August 2010, the Los Zetas were involved in the San Fernando Massacre, executing 72 immigrants supposedly being recruited by the Gulf Cartel. This was only part of the massacre though, as 8 months later San Fernando witnessed another brutal attack: 193 people were pulled from buses headed for Gulf border towns and executed.
Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, is a well-known transnational criminal organization (TCO) originating from El Salvador. They are specifically targeted for its involvement in transnational criminal activities including drug trafficking, kidnapping, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and many more. It is certain that there are more transnational gangs other than MS-13, but the reality of these gangs impact society, and their neighborhoods, more than one can imagine. There are underlying realities “that make it difficult to generalize [the gangs].” The one of many underlying realities is that each neighborhood level gang group of transnational gangs, particularly MS-13, has a “great deal of autonomy in the relationship it maintains with other organizations.” The second reality factor is that gangs, especially MS-13 in El Salvador are in a state of turmoil. 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.” These realities can be analyzed with Taussig’s notions and theoretical framework of space of death.
According to the National Gang Center, the change is gangs from 2002-2007: +12% in larger cities, +33% in suburban counties, +27% smaller cities and +24% in rural counties (National Youth Gang Center, 2009). The gang problem in the United States of America has been getting worse since the first gang was formed by Irish immigrants in the early 1800s. For low income and areas with high population, gang involvement with youths has also been getting worse. Regarding gang-related homicides, it is for difficult data collection industries to gather correct information because after a murder is committed it must be determined whether the murder is gang-related or not. But despite that, reports of gang-related murders are concentrated mostly in the large cities in the United States of America. Including San Jose, where there are long standing and persistent gang problems, which mean there are a larger number of documented gang members. There are literally thousands of anti-gang advocacy groups because there are so many concerned parents. These groups support politicians who are working to try to create legislation to reduce the gang problem in the United States of America. There are a number of theories on how to combat the gang problem, but a strategy which rarely fails is to take small steps in progress and continue to move forward.. There will never be a perfect solution that solves every aspect of a problem. But one policy that covers a wide range of issues involving gangs is the United States Constitutional bill S.132, “Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009.” It is the most extensive and sophisticated piece of gang legislation to appear in the last decade, it has many objectives on increasing and enhancing law enforcement resources committed to the investigation and prosecution of violent gangs. It has had more supporters from both parties than any anti-gang bill in the last decade. S.132, “The Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009” has the potential to deter and punish violent gang crime, to protect law-abiding citizens and communities from violent criminals, to revise and enhance criminal penalties for violent crimes, to expand and improve gang prevention programs; it will give jobs back to police officers such as those in San Jose who lost their jobs and will help law enforcement indentify gang crimes to be able to put murderers behind bars faster.
*Many of the juvenile gangs that have formed in the United States in recent years are reminiscent of the post -war pachucos (Paz, 14).
Maras in Honduras are usually involved in all activities of street crime, such as extortion and drug trafficking, both within and outside the prison system. In addition, maras usually take control over the territory in a particular city and are often involved in "protection", a kind of extortion, because the "protection" is usually from the own gang, or in other criminal activities. The majority of members retain their membership in gangs when they go to jail. Not to mention that most of the maras use organized fronts to demonstrate its influence and profit in a particular
Women had a major stake in the Mexican Revolution, which began roughly in 1910 under the reign of Porfirio Diaz, considered a dictator by many historians, who ran Mexico with an iron first for around 26 years. Under his fierce dictatorship, women of all classes did not fare well.
To help me understand and analyze a different culture, I watched the film Selena. The film tells the life story of the famous singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Not only does it just tell personal stories from her life, it also gives insight to the Mexican-American culture. Her whole life she lived in the United States, specifically in Texas, but was Hispanic and because of that both her and her family faced more struggles than white singers on the climb to her success. Even though the film is a story about a specific person, it brought understanding into the culture in which she lived. Keeping in mind that these ideas that I drew about the Mexican-American culture is very broad and do not apply to every single person in the culture, there were very obvious differences in their culture and the one that I belong. Mexican-American culture identifies with their family rather than individualized or spiritual identities and the culture has gone through significant changes because of discrimination and the changing demographics of the United States.
Power and territory became their motives over time. In the film, one of the inmates stated MS 13 is run by one leader. Other sources say there are multiple. The scariest attribute about MS 13 is that they are an at home U.S. threat, that we have only scratched the surface of. MS 13 is growing numbers and going national. They are not only street thugs, but officials and businessmen in suits. MS 13 is organized and structured. They recruit kids as young as seven. A seven year old will get a less harsh sentence than an adult. Jail is also a prime spot for recruiting and education criminals that will be released. As I expressed before, they go in as novice members and come out as career trained criminals. Why is jail an important step, a lot of MS 13 business are run by leaders in jail. The film showed that in jail leaders have access to protection, healthcare, and a simple life with power. In some jails, MS 13 are the only occupants. MS 13 is a well oiled machine. Nothing happens without the green light of a leader. Brenda Paz, for example, was a seventeen year old gang member, murdered by her friends for being a FBI informant. This did not happen without a thorough gang investigation. Like I said before, the only way out of MS 13 is death. Even if we cut the head off of the snake, its venom already runs through the U.S like a virus. The U.S. accidently created a monster by ignoring the gang issues to begin with. Now they are a powerful influence on our culture.