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America's Most Dangerous Gang
POLICE magazine ^ | Shelly Feuer Domash

Posted on 06/11/2005 8:54:12 AM PDT by Calpernia

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Mara Salvatrucha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the early 1980s, a violent civil war began in El Salvador which would last more than 12 years. Approximately 100,000 people were killed in the war, and more than one million people fled from El Salvador to the U.S. The Salvadorian refugees and immigrants initially settled primarily in southern California and Washington, D.C.

Some of the refugees and immigrants had ties with 'La Mara', a violent street gang from El Salvador. Others had been members of paramilitary groups like the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMNL) during the civil war. FMNL was made up of Salvadorian peasants who were trained as guerilla fighters. Many were adept at using explosives, firearms, and booby traps.

Most of the Salvadorian refugees settled in the established Hispanic neighborhoods of the "Rampart" area of Los Angeles. However, Salvadorians were not readily accepted into the Los Angeles Hispanic community, and were frequently targeted by local Hispanic gangs. As a result, in the late 1980s, some refugees and refugee members of La Mara and FMNL formed what is now known as the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) street gang in Los Angeles. Like many other street gangs, MS initially formed for protection, but quickly developed a reputation for being organized and extremely violent. MS membership continues to be fed by refugees from groups like FMNL.

Since its inception in California and Washington, DC, Mara Salvatrucha has expanded into Oregon, Alaska, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Canada, and Mexico. MS is unique in that, unlike traditional U.S. street gangs, it maintains active ties with MS members and factions in El Salvador. Mara Salvatrucha is literally an international gang.

Mara Salvatrucha gang members maintain contact between groups in the United States and El Salvador for several specific reasons. In El Salvador, a hand grenade sells for $1.00-$2.00 U.S. currency and an M-16 rifle will sell for approximately $200.00-$220.00 U.S. dollars. This communication and alliance provides a mechanism for MS gang members to access military-style munitions and also establishes a network to traffic illegal firearms into the United States.

Although military weapons seem to be readily available to this gang, street intelligence indicates they often have difficulty obtaining handguns, which are not readily available in El Salvador. This creates a demand for small arms by MS members in the U.S. and El Salvador. This demand is so high that MS members will often take handguns as payment for drug transactions. The guns are then sent back to El Salvador, or used in the United States.

MS is also involved in exporting stolen U.S. cars to South America. The cars are often traded for drugs when dealing with cartels. It is estimated that 80% of the cars driven in El Salvador were stolen in the United States. Car theft is a lucrative business for MS.

The Mara Salvatrucha gang is involved in a variety of criminal enterprises. As with members of other gangs, MS members seem willing to commit almost any crime, but MS gang members tend to have a higher level of criminal involvement than other gang members. MS members have been involved in burglaries, auto thefts, narcotic sales, home invasion robberies, weapons smuggling, car jacking, extortion, murder, rape, witness intimidation, illegal firearm sales, car theft and aggravated assaults. In terms of drug trafficking activities, common drugs sold by MS members include cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine. Mara Salvatrucha gang members have even placed a “tax” on prostitutes and non-gang member drug dealers who are working in MS "turf." Failure to pay up will most likely result in violence.

Originally, only Salvadorians could become members of Mara Salvatrucha. However, MS now includes members from Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Mara Salvatrucha also has a few African-American members. MS has broken the race barrier for membership, but most new members are still selected because of their ethnic (Central American) background. The majority of MS gang members are between the ages of 11 and 40 years old.

Mara Salvatrucha members identify themselves with tattoos such as the number “13," or trece in Spanish. MS gang members will also use the Spanish word sureño, meaning "southerner" to identify themselves. Sometimes sureño is abbreviated to SUR. These terms make reference to the fact that MS gang members like to claim they are from southern California as opposed to northern California, and are rivals with northern California gangs. Often, this rivalry is taken outside the state of California. Additionally, Mara Salvatrucha gang members have several ongoing rivalries with large southern California gangs, including the 18th Street gang, and in California, commonly attack 18th Street gang members on sight. There are many Hispanic gangs, including MS, which use the number “13," and the terms sureno and SUR as identifiers, including street/prison gangs outside of California. Thus, it is important to identify specific tattoos used by the Mara Salvatrucha gang, which include “M” or “MS,” in addition to the 13 or SUR identification. Another common tattoo seen is “Salvadorian Pride.” There is also a good chance that the member will also have the name of his particular clique tattooed on his/her body. Other tattoos encountered with MS members have included pentagrams and other occult symbols. These can be confusing when found in conjunction with gang tattoos and can cause misconceptions of Satanic involvement by the gang. The most common hand sign used by MS members is the letter M formed by using three fingers and pointing the hand downward. This handsign can resemble the pitchfork sign used by Folk/People Nation gangs from the Midwest, and can be made with the fingers pointing up or down. The symbols used as tattoos are also used in graffiti and personal writings.

In general, Mara Salvatrucha members show no fear of law enforcement. They are not easily intimidated and frequently act defiantly. Mara Salvaltrucha gang members have been responsible for the execution of three federal agents and numerous shootings of law enforcement officers across the country. MS gang members have been known to booby-trap their drug stash houses using antipersonnel grenades on the assumption that these structures will be searched by law enforcement. MS members at one time often bragged of assaulting law enforcement officers as a means of showing their loyalty and commitment to the gang. However, these claims have never been confirmed. Today, assaults on law enforcement officers are not required for membership, but are always an option. Thus, officers dealing with MS members (or any street gang members, for that matter) should always use extreme caution.

Law enforcement and the courts have used two primary methods to deal with criminal activity by MS: arrest/incarceration and deportation. Between April 1994 and August 1995, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) arrested and deported more than 100 MS gang members to El Salvador. Many Mara Salvatrucha gang members are currently in the United States illegally and are concerned about deportation. If a gang member is deported to El Salvador, there is a chance they will be targeted by the Sombra Negra (Black Shadow) death squad. Sombra Negra and similar groups are legendary in Central America. Gangsters and citizens alike believe that the Sombra Negra is made up of rogue cops and military personnel who target unwanted criminals and gang members for vigilante "justice." While the presence of these death squads is officially denied by the governments of Central American countries, many MS members in the U.S. believe these groups exist, and fear that they will be targeted after being deported. Honduran MS gang members have the same fear. Sombra Negra has claimed responsibility for the deaths of several MS gang members in El Salvador. The existence or belief in the existence of these death squads could also be a chief motivation for hardcore MS gang members to come to the United States.

1 posted on 06/11/2005 8:54:12 AM PDT by Calpernia
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To: Calpernia

From the title I thought it was about the State Department.


2 posted on 06/11/2005 8:54:52 AM PDT by TheOtherOne
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To: Calpernia

ah...can't we all get along? (/s)


3 posted on 06/11/2005 8:56:07 AM PDT by ken21 (if you didn't see it on tv, then it didn't happen. /s)
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To: KylaStarr; Cindy; StillProud2BeFree; nw_arizona_granny; Velveeta; Dolphy; appalachian_dweller; ...

Davey Crockett and Nw_arizona_granny found this excellent article on WHAT is coming over our borders. Pretty scary stuff.


4 posted on 06/11/2005 8:56:18 AM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: TheOtherOne

That was funny. ^-^


5 posted on 06/11/2005 8:56:50 AM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: Calpernia

Thanks for the post.


6 posted on 06/11/2005 8:57:55 AM PDT by TheOtherOne
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To: Calpernia

capture them, send them to army recruiting, and then post them in the middle east.

sorta new french legion. they sent their riff-raff to africa.


7 posted on 06/11/2005 8:58:20 AM PDT by ken21 (if you didn't see it on tv, then it didn't happen. /s)
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To: TheOtherOne
From the title I thought it was about the State Department.

I thought it was about the Senate's new "gang of 14."

8 posted on 06/11/2005 8:59:30 AM PDT by MARK4
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To: Calpernia
Why Bush refuses to stop illegal immigration is something I cannot fathom. I hate to move into the conspiracy, tin foil hat arena, but Bush must have some ulterior motive.
9 posted on 06/11/2005 8:59:56 AM PDT by Founding Father ( Republicans control the Oval Office, Senate and House, but still can't govern.)
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To: Calpernia

"The senseless violence of MS-13 has shocked the local citizens of Nassau County, so the Nassau County Executive appointed a “gang czar” to deal with the increasing gang problem."

Okay, yeah, you can call yourself a gang czar. Just make sure you shoot to kill.


10 posted on 06/11/2005 9:00:37 AM PDT by John Robertson
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To: ken21

They are only committing crimes Americans are not willing to committ themselves.


11 posted on 06/11/2005 9:01:35 AM PDT by ABN 505
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To: ABN 505

those lazy gringos!


12 posted on 06/11/2005 9:04:21 AM PDT by ken21 (if you didn't see it on tv, then it didn't happen. /s)
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To: TheOtherOne
Liberals would have us believe that the Third World proletariat is, by definition, more moral than the bourgeoise. Why? The standard liberal response is simply because they've suffered historical "wrongs" at the hands of the West.

In other words, suffering makes divine. And the secular divinity of the proletariat excuses any crime, any pathology.

13 posted on 06/11/2005 9:05:43 AM PDT by Reactionary
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To: MARK4; TheOtherOne

The Other One has been One upped!


14 posted on 06/11/2005 9:05:48 AM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: Calpernia
MS13 also has a branch in Boston, according to the Boston Herald a few months back.

Unless the federals pursue them here they are on safe ground; seeing as our Attorney General (and next governor) Tom Riely does not turn over anyone to the INS for deportation.
15 posted on 06/11/2005 9:07:17 AM PDT by mmercier (Billy Pilgrim sh*t thin gruel)
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To: Calpernia
The senseless violence of MS-13 has shocked the local citizens of Nassau County, so the Nassau County Executive appointed a “gang czar” to deal with the increasing gang problem.

Someone is just not getting it.

Brutal, vicious, but not senseless. It has a definite purpose. To initmidate, eliminate, and establish the gang as top dog on that turf. It establishes every wearer of the tattoo as someone 'not to be messed with'.

So don't mess with them.

Find the tat, shoot the rat.

16 posted on 06/11/2005 9:09:00 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (Grant no power to government you would not want your worst enemies to wield against you.)
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To: Founding Father

>>>Why Bush refuses to stop illegal immigration is something I cannot fathom.

OPINION

I've noticed more and more articles coming out on border patrol who take bribes and businesses that employ the illegals have been getting raided.

THEORY

Maybe the people that take pay offs that allow the illegal network passage and hosting needs to be stopped first? Catch the facilitors in the act of taking payoffs than control the borders more?


17 posted on 06/11/2005 9:09:05 AM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: Calpernia

nassau county appoints a gang czar problem solved
in reality the cops in nassau county have let this and other gangs free run on their turf
they know who and where they are and nothing is done about it
it is a big problem in middle and high schools and it is not confined to just to the less affluent school districts


18 posted on 06/11/2005 9:10:59 AM PDT by JohnLongIsland
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To: Calpernia; gubamyster; HiJinx; shellshocked
We must respect the cultural traditions of all of our new immigrants.

Diversity is our strength, what difference does technical documentation status make?

Besides, the MS-13 are only coming to do the rapes and murders Americans are too lazy to do.


19 posted on 06/11/2005 9:12:30 AM PDT by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: Straight Vermonter

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1314357/posts

Eastie gang linked to al-Qaeda
Boston Herald ^ | January 5, 2005 | Michele McPhee

Posted on 01/05/2005 7:01:55 AM EST by Straight Vermonter

A burgeoning East Boston-based street gang made up of alleged rapists and machete-wielding robbers has been linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, prompting Boston police to ``turn up the heat'' on its members, the Herald has learned.

MS-13, which stands for La Mara Salvatrucha, is an extremely violent organization with roots in El Salvador, and boasts more than 100 ``hardcore members'' in East Boston who are suspected of brutal machete attacks, rapes and home invasions. There are hundreds more MS-13 gangsters in towns along the North Shore, said Boston police Sgt. Detective Joseph Fiandaca, who has investigated the gang since it began tagging buildings in Maverick Square in 1995.

In recent months, intelligence officials in Washington have warned national law enforcement agencies that al-Qaeda terrorists have been spotted with members of MS-13 in El Salvador, prompting concerns the gang may be smuggling Islamic fundamentalist terrorists into the country. Law enforcement officials have long believed that MS-13 controls alien smuggling routes along Mexico. The warning is being taken seriously in East Boston, where Raed Hijazi, an al-Qaeda operative charged with training the suicide bombers in the attack on the USS Cole, lived and worked, prosecutors have charged.

Also, the commercial jets that hurtled into the World Trade Center towers in New York City were hijacked from Logan International Airport.

``The terrorist aspect, especially when you think in terms of 9/11 and how intent these terrorists are, will turn the heat up on our efforts with MS-13,'' Fiandaca said. MS-13 members congregate near the Maverick Square train station sporting white and blue bandannas, their skin inked with spider webs and ``laugh now, cry later'' clown faces.


``MS-13 is the most dangerous gang in the area,'' Fiandaca said. ``They are big. They are mobile. Now they have a terrorist connection.''

The theory that Salvadoran criminals manage to smuggle people over the border was bolstered this month when two Boston men described as MS-13 leaders were spotted on the North Shore days before Christmas - a year after they were deported by Boston Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators for gang-related crimes.

One of the two men, Elmer ``Tiger'' Tejada, 24, who had been deported after being convicted of a slew of crimes, including attempted murder charges for hurling a machete at Chelsea cops, was busted in Lynn on New Year's Day. Tejada is described as ``an original MS-13 member'' from East Boston, sources said.

A manhunt has been launched for the second fugitive, who is in the country illegally, Boston police said.

The growing number of MS-13 members, and the degree of violence the gang engages in, prompted investigators from 14 local and national agencies to form the North Shore Gang Intelligence task force in 2000, Fiandaca said.

Among the most notorious local crimes attributed to MS-13 was the gang rape of two deaf girls, one 14, the other 17, in a Somerville park in 2002. Three MS-13 gang members were charged in the brutal rapes, during which one victim was knocked from her wheelchair before the assault.


20 posted on 06/11/2005 9:14:41 AM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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