Mara Salvatrucha

A Mara Salvatrucha member, with the familiar tattoos.

Mara Salvatrucha is a large gang involved in criminal activities throughout the world. The gang's name is commonly abbreviated as MS-13, Mara, MS, and is composed of mostly Salvadorans. ^{[citation needed]} The MS-13 gang has cliques, or factions, located throughout the United States and is unique in that it retains its ties to its Salvadoran counterparts.

Gang members sport numerous tattoos on their bodies and faces, and wear blue and white colors taken from the Salvadoran flag. ^{[citation needed]} Their membership is believed to total over 50,000 in the United States alone.^[1] MS-13 criminal activities include drug smuggling and sales, gun running, human trafficking, assassinations for hire, theft, arson, and strong arming the locals.^{[citation needed]} Their activities caught the eye of the FBI, who in September 2005 initiated wide-scale raids against suspected gang members, netting 650 arrests across the country.^[2]

In March 2004, the Maldon Institute, a Washington DC based think tank, released a report detailing the violent methods MS-13 used, including their increasingly typical calling card: MS-13 often leave behind dismembered corpses, with the severed heads, at the scenes of their murders. ^{[citation needed]}

History

The gang's California body is said to have been founded by childhood friends Julio Cesar and Ernesto "Smokey" Miranda when they were in their youth, around 11 and 12 years old. ^{[citation needed]} The gang formed in the Pico Union area of Los Angeles where Mexican-American gangs would prey on Salvadoran immigrants who came to the U.S. escaping the Salvadoran civil war.^[1]

Although founded among immigrants to the United States, the policy of deporting convicted criminals back to their country of origin led to a large gang presence in El Salvador. Back in El Salvador, these deportees have recruited more members, including new members who emigrate illegally to the United States.^[3]

On 2006-05-13, Ernesto "Smokey" Miranda was murdered at his home in El Salvador, a few hours after declining to attend a party for a gang member who had just been released from prison. He had begun studying law and working to keep kids out of gangs.^[4]

Etymology

The word mara means gang in Caliche and is taken from marabunta, the name of a fierce type of ant. "Salvatrucha" is a portmanteau of Salvadoran and trucha, a Caliche word for being alert, usually entailing preparedness for crime or abuse from police. Mara Salvatrucha is also commonly translated as Salvadoran Gang. Members of this group control much of the rail and roadways in these areas, transporting contraband, weapons, illegal migrants, and other cargo throughout the Americas.^{[citation needed]} Before the Mara Salvatrucha became prominent, the slang term Salvatrucha was and is still used among Salvadorans to refer to persons of Salvadoran origin. Salvatrucha refers to Salvadoran female. Salvatrucho refers to Salvadoran male.

Geographical presence

The gangs have moved from beyond their Salvadoran, Mexican and Los Angeles origins and can be found in Belize, West Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Canada, Mexico, and every U.S. state except Hawaii, largely in Washington, DC in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, Dallas, Texas, Long Island, New York and the New York City area, and in the Boston, Massachusetts area. ^{[citation needed]} Some sets have even been founded in Spain, Italy, and Belgium. ^{[citation needed]} Members of these various groups have training in firearms, explosives, and booby traps. ^{[citation needed]} A 2004 report by the U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center says chapters of Mara Salvatrucha in different areas may be trying to set up a coordination network. ^{[citation needed]} In 2005, police in Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., noticed an increase in the presence of the gang, including incidents of gang-related stabbings and other violence. ^{[citation needed]}

Organization

There is little known about the hierarchy of the gang. However, higher-ranking members are frequently turned on and killed, which is why not many of the founding fathers remain.^{[citation needed]} The gang is organized into "cliques" (e.g. the Marineros Clique from San Miguel) depending usually on the geographic location. Some of these cliques continue to spread into the areas around them. Former gang member Brenda Paz said that MS 13 is well structured, with multiple leaders, and that MS' goal was to become the top gang in the United States.^[2]

MS-13's well-coordinated communications network allows a member to request assistance from another member from outside of their area.^{[citation needed]} The active participants are unknown and not seen in the same area again, while multi-state distribution of sketches or photos may not even reach the enactors' home state. The combination of mobility and communication complicate law enforcement efforts dealing with members of MS-13.

Gang markings

Mara Salvatrucha members have tattoos on most of their upper body, including the arms and face, with lettering done in Gothic (Blackletter) style. ^{[citation needed]} MS and 13 are always tattooed on them. ^{[citation needed]} Other tattoos include dramatic masks, three dots on the left hand between the index finger and thumb, and the letters M and S on either eyelid. ^{[citation needed]}

A menagerie of tattoos sometimes cover the whole body, including the arms, legs, chest, and even face, while more subtle members only tattoo it on the neck. Unofficial colors usually consist of black, tan, desert camouflage, and brown. ^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of California street gangs

References

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