ABSTRACT

Case Study: Mara Salvatrucha For many, the word “gang” conjures up an image of a group of disaffected young people engaged in criminality to gain identity, raise money, and acquire and maintain “turf.” However, many of the gangs of today are better described as true transnational criminal organizations. Consider the case of Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, which the FBI describes as “one of the greatest threats to the safety and security of all Americans” (FBI, 2005). MS-13, which originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s, was started by El Salvadorian immigrants, many of whom had participated in or been victimized by that country’s bloody civil war. Unusually violent, MS-13 members engage in drug distribution, murder, rape, prostitution, robbery, home invasions, immigration offenses, kidnapping, carjackings/auto thefts, and vandalism.. They have also been known to violently assault law enforcement officers. With an estimated 10,000 members currently located throughout the UNITED STATES and an estimated 100,000 members worldwide, they are truly a transnational entity, with members traveling freely between the UNITED STATES, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Spain, Great Britain and Germany. Their ability to travel freely and the level of fear and intimidation they bring to their communities has proved a difficult challenge for security officials, who most recently have set up extensive international task forces to deal with the threat. There has also been concern registered by UNITED STATES officials that international terrorist groups like al Qaeda may attempt to establish alliances with MS-13 to facilitate the movement of terrorists into the United States.