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Beware the Salvatrucha

In a globalized world that gets smaller every day, the interconnections between events beyond our borders and in our own backyard is often fascinating - but sometimes frightening. The origins and activities of the criminal gang MS-13 is a case in point.

During the 1980s, El Salvador was wracked by a very dirty civil war between Marxist rebels and a hard-right government. A generation of young Salvadorans came of age as soldiers, guerilla fighters, or members of shadowy death-squads. In the 1990s, many of them immigrated to the United States, primarily to southern California or to suburbs outside Washington, D.C.

In the tough barrios of Los Angeles, the new arrivals were easy prey for long-established street gangs and within a short time started organizing themselves. One of these - born in the 13th Street neighborhood - became "Mara Salvatrucha 13," or MS-13. In Salvadoran slang, "mara" roughly translates into "gang" while a "trucha" is a streetwise criminal.

In a short time, MS-13 established a reputation for extreme violence and brazen confrontation with both rival gangs and police. Older members with combat experience organized the gang into cells, or "cliques," and acquired military-grade weapons through their Central American connections. With lots of firepower and the willingness to use it, MS-13 started to become the contract "muscle" for drug cartels and other criminal enterprises. In many instances, MS-13 then muscled itself into the action.

Like a cancer, MS-13 soon was spreading to the suburban areas in northern Virginia and Maryland, and then to other cities and states across the country. Numbers are hard to pin down, but estimates range from 20,000 up to 50,000 MS-13-associated gang members in the United States, active in almost every state (including Utah) and most major cities (including Las Vegas). As a matter of pride, MS-13 members often sport prominent tattoos on the neck, head and face.

Several factors have made these tattooed salvatruchas an increasing concern for law enforcement officers, who often characterize MS-13 as the most dangerous gang in America. One factor is the bloody-curdling nature of some of their crimes, including gang rape, machete attacks and mutilation of victims. Another is a level of organization and adaptability not seen in most gangs. MS-13 cliques get involved in a wide spectrum of illicit activity, including Internet and "white collar" crime - not just extortion and drug sales.

The gang's international connections most differentiate MS-13, however. MS-13 has a strong presence in El Salvador, naturally, but also boasts tens of thousands of adherents in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico. Starting in 1996, stricter U.S. policies meant that illegal immigrants convicted of crimes could more easily be deported to their home countries. A human backwash of sorts resulted, with thousands of prison-hardened young men flowing back into countries unprepared to handle them. There they have turned prisons into their own domains, openly battled police and built a cross-border criminal network that challenges governments.

Today, the MS-13 network spans the borders between Central America and Mexico and reaches its tentacles back into the United States. Some reports also hold that MS-13 now controls much of the flow of illegal immigration through Mexico into the United States, extracting a "tax" on immigrants and the human smuggling rings that move them. This is where MS-13 has raised alarm flags. In late 2004, a report surfaced claiming a top al-Qaida operative tried to contact MS-13 leaders in Honduras - presumably for help smuggling nefarious people or materials into the United States. After investigating, the FBI publicly discounted any MS-13 connection with al-Qaida but in 2005 the Bureau created a task force specifically to monitor the gang.

In a post-9-11 world where trade, technology and terrorism all intersect, threats to our security are complex and intertwined. We cannot afford to allow a violent, transnational criminal enterprise to grow unchecked. Chalk up one more argument for getting control of our immigration policies.

Tad Trueblood has more than 20 years' experience as a U.S. Air Force officer and an analyst in the national security community. He lives in Santa Clara.


Originally published March 8, 2006