ABSTRACT

According to a report published in 2009 by the United States Department of Justice,4 gangs pose a serious threat to public safety in many communities throughout the United States. During the past two decades, gang members have increasingly migrated from large urban centers to suburban areas and other countries. Perhaps one of the most notorious gangs that is now international is the Mara Salvatrucha gang, which originated in Los Angeles and was set up in the 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants in the city’s Pico-Union neighborhood. Members immigrated to the United States aer the Central American civil wars of the 1980s. is gang has now become problematic in Central America.