Thread: Inside the MS-13 and the effort to stop it

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I-Team: Inside the MS-13 and the effort to stop it

Web Posted: 11/18/2005 01:03 AM CST

Brandy Ralston
KENS 5 Eyewitness News
They are members of possibly the most violent gang in America today, and they're showing up right here in San Antonio.

The Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, is an extremely violent gang, known for using intimidation and extortion and has built a reputation of being enforcers. In other words, you do what they say or you're going to pay a price.

Salvadorian refugees started MS-13 as a street gang. Now, with more than 10,000 members, the gang is considered one of the fastest-growing and most violent street gangs in the nation.

"They're very ruthless in the way they, if somebody's done something that's not all of what they want done, it's going to be dealt with violently," said Al Peña of the San Antonio division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"It's going to be a clear message that you do not cross them, you do not mess with them, you follow what they want done," Peña. said.

It is this type of violence that has captured the attention of not only ICE officials, but also the FBI.

"We've recently created a national task force that is focusing on the Mara Salvatrucha," said FBI spokesman Rene Salinas.

The FBI has even declared the MS-13 a top priority â€â€

The MS-13 is in NC, Va, Ga, Fl. It's probably in all 50 states by now.

This gang should have been a top priority of the FBI, ICE and state & local police departments when it was only in CA. Too little, too late.