2023 BBC. Mara Salvatrucha's operations in Spain were provided with financial and logistical support by the gang's El Salvador-based leadership as part of MS-13's expansionist agenda known as Programa 34 ("Program 34").[4]. [41] In 2002, several high-ranking MS-13 members began establishing the Ranfla Nacional, the gang's "command and control structure", which has directed acts of violence and murders in El Salvador and the United States. It is now larger outside the country, according to the agency. Gang, A Brutal Sense Of Belonging", "Second High-Ranking MS-13 Gang Member Arrested In Santa Cruz", "Thoughts on Violence and Modernity in Latin America", "U.N. finds possible extrajudicial killings in El Salvador gang", "How We're Ganging Up On MS-13 And What You Can Do To Help", "5 in Somerton arrested in national gang sweep", "MS-13 gang labeled transnational criminal group, a first for US street gang", "U.S. Imposes Sanctions on 3 Leaders of Gang Based in El Salvador", "Federal Authorities Charge 56 MS-13 Gang Members in Boston Area", "22 MS-13 Members and Associates Charged Federally in ICE's MS-13 Targeted 'Operation Raging Bull' Which Netted a Total of 267 Arrests", "Federal government announces hundreds of arrests in MS-13 crackdown", "113 suspected MS-13 gang members arrested in El Salvador", "Ruthless Central American gang seeks Toronto toehold, police say - The Star", "US prosecutors: Jailed MS-13 bosses behind wave of violence", "Csar Romero, el cabecilla de la MS-13, condenado a ms de mil aos de crcel por asesinato del hijo de Henry Arana y 23 personas ms", "Jefe de la MS-13 es condenado a 1,090 aos de crcel por cometer 24 asesinatos", "Leader of MS-13 in Honduras Added to the FBI's List of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives", "Department of State Announces Reward Offers for Information Leading to Arrest and/or Conviction of MS-13 Leader in Honduras", "Treasury Sanctions MS-13-Affiliates for Drug Trafficking and Contract Killings in Central America and the United States", "Why Trump's focus on MS-13 might be making them stronger", "Trump's focus on MS-13 risks bolstering gang's fearsome image, study says", "Searches spike for MS-13 as Trump makes gang a focus", "MS-13 is scary, but Trump may be exaggerating the threat - SFChronicle.com", "Republican attack ads echo Trump's anti-immigration message to whip up fear among supporters", "Republican ads feature MS-13, hoping fear will motivate voters", "Pelosi is the star of GOP attack ads, worrying Democrats upbeat about midterms", "G.O.P. [125], On December 23, 2004, one of the most widely publicized MS-13 crimes in Central America occurred in Chamelecn, Honduras, when an intercity bus was intercepted and sprayed with automatic gunfire from assault rifles,[126] killing 28 and wounding 14 civilian passengers, most of whom were women and children. Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), international gang involved in drug and human smuggling, prostitution, murder, and extortion, among other illegal activities. Wall Street Journal. [82] According to the FBI, Archaga Carias is charged federally in the Southern District of New York with racketeering conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession and conspiracy to possess machine guns. [6] Central Americans are the primary targets of violence and threats of violence by MS-13. [10] As of 2007, the gang was being violent to migrants on the southern border of Mexico. In 2008, the MS-13 Task Force coordinated a series of arrests and crackdowns in the U.S. and Central America that involved more than 6,000 police officers in five countries. Martinez, known by the alias "Killer," was accused of luring Mendez and Trimino to a park in Alexandria, Virginia, where they were killed and buried. [158][159], In 2010, Rene Mejia allegedly murdered a Long Island 2-year-old baby. June 9, 2022 2 AM PT MEXICO CITY Carlos Martnez peered over his brother scar's shoulder as they proofread the investigation they were about to publish, a story they feared could change their. [169][170], Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini announced on December 20, 2019, that nine leaders and 45 members of MS-13, plus 19 drug dealers, have been arrested after a 23-month investigation. In 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) created the MS-13 National Gang Task Force, which facilitates cooperation among local and state law enforcement agencies in order to dismantle MS-13. This, along with reports of government leniency towards imprisoned gangsters, led to the truce being highly unpopular and controversial. The United States Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs offered a reward offer of $5 million USD through its Narcotics Rewards Program. El Salvador has a true rainforest, the Montecristo National Park that is forever covered in mist and clouds. A Remedy for El Salvador's Prison Fever | Crisis Group [175], In the first decade of the 21st century, U.S. authorities investigated MS-13 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Michael O'Keefe, "Alleged East Coast MS-13 kingpin arraigned", Michael O'Keefe, "Man sentenced to 27 years in prison for MS-13 killing," January 24, 2019, Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front, trained in Panama by United States Green Berets, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, A Glock in the Park: A Guide to the Gangs of the MacArthur Greens, New murders and more MS-13 members added to sprawling case against gangs clique, MS13 Trial in Spain Highlights Gang's Struggle for International Unity, MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced to 26 Years in Federal Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy Involving a Violent Murder and for Drug Distribution and Firearms Violations, MS-13s Highest-Ranking Leaders Charged with Terrorism Offenses in the United States, "Zetas and MS-13 Join Forces in Guatemala", "MS-13: Gangs infiltrating the suburbs of Washington, DC", "Long Island Officials Concerned With Trump's MS-13 Crackdown Tactics", "Trump heads to Long Island, using brutal MS-13 murders to justify deportations", A place to sleep, party and kill: Abandoned L.A. buildings become MS-13 gang destroyers, "Inside MS-13's secret initiation rituals and internal feuds", "MS-13 gang members convicted by S.F. Infanticide and femicide are common, with El Salvador hosting the third-highest femicide rate in the world. Federal prosecutors have indicted numerous MS-13 gang members on racketeering, extortion, prostitution, kidnapping, illegal immigration, money laundering, murder, people smuggling, arms trafficking, human trafficking and drug trafficking charges; the targeted special agent was the lead federal investigator on many of the federal cases. What countries are currently El Salvador's allies and enemies? It was after this point that the gang began to grow in power. ARENA presidencies implemented the Mano Dura and Super Mano Dura policies to combat gangs. [127] MS-13 organized the massacre as a protest against the Honduran government for proposing a restoration of the death penalty in Honduras. Who was Nahel M, shot by police in Nanterre? [78][79], On November 3, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a press release stating that Yulan Adonay Archaga Carias was being added to the FBI's list of Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives with a $100,000 reward for information leading to his capture. [63] Throughout the truce, Salvadoran gangs were able to focus on expansion and internal regulation instead of inter-gang conflict. Portillo participated in the murder of four young Latino men assumed to be in a rival gang. Thousands of hours were spent on the case over several years. [76], In January 2021, Acting United States Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen announced terrorism charges against fourteen MS-13 leaders known as Ranfla Nacional imprisoned in El Salvador. The latest was a mass murder on Monday on Long Island, where the bodies of four males, including three teenagers, were found mangled in the woods, according to police. [90] Republican politicians have argued that sanctuary cities (jurisdictions which do not prioritize enforcement of immigration law) contribute to MS-13 activity,[94][95] however studies on the relationship between sanctuary status and crime have found that either sanctuary policies do not affect crime or that they decrease crime rates. In El Salvador, children are recruited while traveling to school, church, or work. [165], On February 2, 2019, an MS-13 member fatally shot a member of the rival 18th Street Gang on the New York City Subway's 90th StreetElmhurst Avenue station in Queens. [2] The gang is strongest in Central America's Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. [16] Additionally, the word mara means gang in Caliche slang and is taken from marabunta, the name of a fierce type of ant. The trials revealed significant corruption, such as government negotiators encouraging gangs to increase the homicide rate to keep everyone at the negotiating table. A 2008 FBI threat assessment put the size of MS-13 between 6,000 and 10,000 members in the US, making it one of the largest criminal enterprises in the country. Originally, the gang's main purpose was to protect Salvadoran immigrants from the other, more established gangs of Los Angeles, who were predominantly composed of Mexicans, Asians, and African-Americans. El Salvador summary | Britannica The term "Salvatruchas" has been explained as a reference to Salvadoran peasants trained to become guerrilla fighters, referred to as the "Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front." [60] In addition, the economic struggles of the post-war period, alongside neoliberal trade reforms, likely contributed to the growth of MS-13.[61]. [171], In 2011, Alonso "Casper" Bruno Cornejo Ormeno, an associate of MS-13 from Fairfax, Virginia, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for child prostitution. The attacks drew condemnation from a multitude of advocacy groups, and, with the two attacks so closely linked, resulted in heavy police presence within MacArthur Park. They mostly settled in cities with large undocumented populations, like Los Angeles. Large chest tattoos brand members for life, and some factions are said to murder members who attempt to leave. Before American Baptist Churches v. Thornburg and even after, Salvadoran immigrants were left highly vulnerable to exploitation. See answer (1) Best Answer. The Obama administration also prioritised the deportation of gang criminals, including MS-13 members, in an aggressive deportation program. Death squads were a diabolical presence during the brutal civil war in El Salvador from 1979 to 1992. He later came to Charlotte, North Carolina, according to witnesses, as a veteran member of MS-13, to reorganize the Charlotte cell of the gang. [133] Chris Vogel of the Houston Press wrote that the trial of the girl who stabbed Granillo, Ashley Paige Benton,[134] gave attention to MS-13. Twenty-three others were arrested elsewhere in New York State, and 134 in El Salvador. Diplomatic Relations Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, 1863. "The big surge was during Bush-Cheney when the drivers of illegal migration in Central America grew, when various crackdowns on crime filled prisons to bursting point, and when funding for rehabilitation programs declined," Fulton T Armstrong, a research fellow at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University, told fact-checking website Politifact. Some sources state the gang is named for La Mara, a street in San Salvador, and the Salvatrucha guerrillas who fought in the Salvadoran Civil War. Foreign relations of Honduras - Wikipedia [172], Rances Ulices Amaya, a leader of MS-13, of Springfield, Virginia, was convicted in February 2012 for trafficking girls as young as 14 into a prostitution ring. [138], On November 26, 2008, Jonathan Retana was convicted of the murder of Miguel Angel Deras in Hamilton County, Ohio, which the authorities linked to an MS-13 initiation. Mossad says it abducted hitman from inside Iran, Sex life of rare 'leopard-print' frog revealed. Politifact rated Mr Trump's claim as false. El Salvador ex-president sentenced to 14 years over gang talks. But the ruling elites are "a formidable enemy" that . [150], The Washington, D.C., think tank Center for Immigration Studies released a report that listed 506 cases of MS-13 criminal acts in the United States between 2012 and 2018. Gang violence in El Salvador peaked in the 1990s, then declined in the early 2000s. [2][20] In New York, MS-13 is based primarily in the Woodhaven, Jamaica, Flushing and Rockaway areas of Queens, as well as on Long Island. [70] In January 2016, over 400 Boston police officers were involved in the arrests of 37 MS-13 members; 56 were charged altogether. The violence is unspeakable." MS-13 has a long time rivalry with the 18th Street gang. The 13 represents the position of M in the alphabet. When the truce ended, the gangs had built up their forces significantly. Read about our approach to external linking. Fox News Flash Published November 5, 2022 10:00am EDT El Salvador president says US now feels less safe than his third-world country: 'It's unthinkable' 'I'm from El Salvador, a third-world. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area. So they're brutal. In 2021, two transgender women in MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, had been assaulted and stabbed at night within the park. It was the first street gang to receive the dubious honour, placing it alongside much larger international cartels like the Mexican Zetas, Japanese Yakuza and Italian Camorra. During the session, Barr told the press while MS-13 was involved in drug dealing, making money from drugs was neither a substantial source of revenue for MS-13 nor one of their objectives, "MS-13 is somewhat unique in this sense: they have the street savagery that you would see in a gang is not driven by commercial interests the way, for example, the mafia traditionally was. After a night of drinking, Gomez and another MS-13 member smacked Matute on the head with a baseball bat, sliced his throat with a knife, and stabbed him in the back with a screwdriver 17 times. External observers and gangsters themselves believe these policies increased the power of gangs in El Salvador. El Salvador - The World Factbook The gang's Spanish-based operations were financed primarily by the sale of marijuana and cocaine, as well as with monthly dues paid by members. "[178][179][180], Under the coordination of the gang's leadership in El Salvador, Mara Salvatrucha formed five clicas in Spain as part of the gang's Programa 34 ("Program 34") expansionist program. The Second World War pitted two alliances against each other, the Axis powers and the Allied powers; the Soviet Union served 34 million men and women, Germany 18 million, the U.S 16 million, Japan 9 million, and Great Britain 6 million. Parts of this article are based on text from the CIA World Factbook. The women had been forced to pay MS-13 members a weekly "tax" for permission to be in the park, according to police reports and victim interviews, for the right to be left alone by the gang. [112][113] However, an FBI assessment has reported that "Sureo gangs, including mara salvatrucha (MS-13), 18th street, and Florencia 13, are expanding faster than other national-level gangs, both in membership and geographically. [19] Recruitment is often forced. In the incident, an MS-13 gangster was killed, which led to a cycle of vengeance that has escalated into an intense and generalized animosity between the two gangs.[56]. Out of the Jungle -- In El Salvador, Rebels With A New Cause. The three MS-13 members, natives of El Salvador, were in the United States illegally. [160], On June 30, 2015, Jonathan Cardona-Hernandez was discovered shot dead on a street in Central Islip, New York. See also List of diplomatic missions in Honduras List of diplomatic missions of Honduras El Salvador. We've done a great job with MS-13, but now we're stepping it up to an even higher level. [22][23][24][25][26][27] At least one faction of MS-13 the Fulton clique in Los Angeles has required prospective members to commit a murder in order to be considered for full-fledged membership. [77], In June 2022 during the 2022 Salvadoran gang crackdown, one of the gang's leaders, Csar Alfredo Romero Chvez, was sentenced to 1,090 years imprisonment in El Salvador after being convicted of 24 counts of aggravated homicide between 2017 and 2018. On February 1, 2019, 23-year-old Reynaldo "Fuego" Granados-Vasquez, 22-year-old Neris Moreno-Martinez, and 21-year-old Jose "Liar" Melendez-Rivera pleaded guilty to using a fake Facebook account to lure Mejia from New Jersey. [145], In October 2016, Jordy Mejia was kidnapped and murdered in Maryland. SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador The authorities in El Salvador have raided the offices of seven social service and advocacy groups in an embezzlement investigation that rights . [67] In addition, the Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiated Operation Community Shield. In femicide cases, only 5% result in convictions. To favor military allies, it delayed the formation of the National Civil Police of El Salvador (PNC). Instead, they focused on recruitment, organization, and extortion. Mr Trump and Mr Sessions have pointed the finger at former President Barack Obama over the spread of MS-13, alleging that his open-door immigration policies fuelled its growth. . Leaving is potentially even more dangerous. [152], The East Coast kingpin of the MS-13, Miguel Angel Corea Diaz, of Laurel, Maryland (of Prince George's County), was arraigned April 19, 2018, in Nassau County Court in Mineola, New York, on charges including conspiracy to commit murder.
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