Article URL: http://americandaily.com/article/22587 Copyright ©2007 AmericanDaily.Com



Latin American Gangs Are Taking Over Our Streets
By Dave Gibson (07/10/0


At one time, violent crimes attributed to Mexican and Central American gangs were largely confined to the American Southwest. However, just as illegal aliens have spread across this country, so too has a veritable crime wave. Large cities and small towns across the country are now experiencing the early stages of the most violent gang epidemic we have ever seen.

One of the most violent gangs is known as MS-13 The gang perpetuating the death and destruction is known as MS-13. Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 is based in El Salvador.

According to the FBI's National Gang Task Force Director Robert Clifford, MS-13 is following the same paths as do Mexican illegal workers. Clifford said: "The migrant moves and the gang follows. If you follow the construction trade, that is where a lot of these immigrants go."

A March 2005 nation-wide sting operation which targeted members of the notoriously violent MS-13, nabbed 103 gang members. All 103 were in this country illegally. The arrests were made in Baltimore, New York, Newark, Dallas, Los Angeles, as well as the District of Columbia. The arrests made clear the fact that illegal immigration is no longer simply a regional crisis.

In 2005, two MS-13 members were convicted in an Alexandria, Va. United States District Court for killing a 17-year-old pregnant girl. A rope was placed around the neck of Brenda Paz, she was then stabbed repeatedly. Her body was then left along the muddy banks of Virginia’s Shenandoah River. The murder was retribution for the girl’s cooperation with a federal investigation into the gang’s activities.

The FBI now estimates that there are between 8,000 to 10,000 MS-13 gang members inside the United States. The Salvadoran gang is infamous for machete and grenade attacks. They have also been known to behead their enemies.

On January 3, 2008, police in Fort Worth, TX arrested several members of the Latino gang known as Varrio Central for forcing young girls into prostitution. Some of the girls being victimized were as young as 12 years old.

Diego Rodriguez, 19, and Martin Reyes, 17, with aggravated kidnapping, trafficking of a person, and engaging in organized criminal activity. The names of three minors arrested were not released

Varrio Central members would typically befriend the girls, get them high, and then take them to their regular customers. They would also drive them through apartment complexes, approaching men with the offer of sex with a teenaged or pre-teen girl for a fee of $50.

According to Fort Worth Police, if a girl refused to comply, gang members would beat and sexually assault her and threaten her family with violence.

Fort Worth Police Lt. Ken Dean told the Associated Press: “The age of the victims and suspects is the surprising part of it. To have such young individuals in a somewhat organized business, a forced prostitution ring, is somewhat alarming and such a horrendous crime against the 12 to 16 year old girls.â€