Ms-13 Thesis

August 2015, 907 murders, and average of 25 murders per day committed by 13-15 year old gang members. (Transnational Gangs Part 1;Understanding the Threat, 2016) El Salvador is the epicenter of gang activity in Central America and the largest influence on gang activity in the US. Showing no respect for law enforcement, borders, and little for human life gang violence is a requirement for young teens to become members of the La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and the 18th Street gangs. Two years of initiation culminating in at least one murder are required to obtain membership in these gangs.

For many Americans MaraSalvatrucha or commonly known on the streets as (MS-13) is an unfamiliar gang but to (FBI) Federal Bureau Investigation,(ATF) Alcohol, Tabaco, Firearms and Explosives, and local law enforcement agencies,MS-13 is an uprising globalized menace of ruthless criminals who are growing in numbers exponentially. These plagues of criminals are not only making their mark here in the United States but they are deeply rooted in their country of origin, El Salvador and all throughout Central America with the exception of Costa Rica and Panama. From drug and human trafficking across the border, to murders, kidnappings, prostitution rings and drug distribution within the United States and other countries, MS-13 is a force to be

Thousands of U.S. citizens have visited Honduras every year to study, for business, and even tourism. However, the government lacks the resources to fully address crime and violence. The U.S. Department of State has issued a Travel Warning for Honduras since late 2012 (Miller, 2016). Honduras has one of the highest murder rates in the world. While not all the murder rates can be attributed to gang violence, there’s an estimated 7,000 street-gang members among approximately eight million people. They are not afraid to use violence and specialize in many illegal activities

The Ms 13 gang is currently one of the most dangerous and powerful gangs in South America and the United States. As I dug into my research I discovered the reasons,strategies and cruelty of this gang.The majority of the members of this gang are people from Mexico,El Salvador,Honduras, Guatemala and some from Canada.Most of them are young men who grew up in a poor neighborhood and raised themselves in the streets watching the rest of the men in their family get killed or beaten up brutally because they were protecting their own.The gang was originally created in the ‘barrios” of Los Angeles in the 1980’s right after El salvador’s civil war. The name ‘ La Mara Salvatrucha 13 ‘ represents the clever salvadoran gang. The gang’s frightening motto is ‘Mata,Controla,Viola’( Kill,Control& Rape)This gang is made out of many smaller cliques the biggest one being the ‘surenos’.These gangs provide protection to each other and it facilitates their communication.By teaming up with other gangs they are able to manage easily other territories and mantain their power as one big union. Another way they’re gaining a lot of power is because they have formed an alliance with Los Zetas, who is one of the biggest and dangerous drug cartel in Mexico. Members of the gang are serving the Zetas as warriors for the gang which has made the Ms13 gain a lot more power.

Central America has been plagued in the past with drugs, violence and poverty. This is a concerning issue because it have affected the lives of many people who now want to move away because of the death rates that has risen up because of the violence in the area. Due to the thousands corruption, poverty, and violence occurring in Central America, the Central American Government has allowed the immigration crisis to exceed in its country.

to Central America. Everyone protects everyone until you cross your family. If that happens you can end up dead in the streets. One example of this is a young girl who left MS13 and became an informant for the FBI. She was killed by her own friends. That is just a price to pay for turning your back on your family. If members of MS13 are caught they are deported back to their home country. This has created a problem because now they are spreading their cause and gang around the world. In some countries in Central America there are prisons dedicated just to MS13. If other gangs were mixed in there would constantly be killings for turf. There is also a prison for those who have left the gang. These people actually would rather stay in prison because they know if they get out, they will be killed. This family is extremely dedicated to each other and their

Both MS-13 and Barrio 18 created a lot of crimes in the Los Angles area, once gang members had been charged of several crimes, the United States government decided to deport them back to their country of origin. In the 90’s the U.S. brought airplanes full of gang members that the country no longer wanted to be responsible for and instead brought the crime over to El Salvador. During this time period, El Salvador was finishing the civil war and the government had basically started all over, the national police force was barely forming meaning that they lacked control over their citizens and over these thousands of gang members who were entering the country (Garsd, J., 2015). This situation left a gap for other groups to take control over the system and so they did.

Violence is one of the biggest problems Latin America countries have had during the last years; however, it has increase in the last years, becoming a common phenomenon that affects the daily activities of the communities (Moser and Mcilwaine, 2006, p. 90). This problem makes the region one of the most violent in the world with a rate of twenty murder for every hundred people (Sanchez, 2006, p. 182), as show in the Figure 1. Latin America is the region with a higher rate of homicides in the world. Violence have an impact in some youth and adolescents who are susceptible to become part of the problem. Young people tend to start their participation in criminal activities at an early state of their lives (Hoffman et

The epic power of Latin American drug cartels is almost mythical. There is a history of influence, control, and supreme reign over many aspects of societies where they operate. Their power is fueled by a demand for a product that extends worldwide; thus ensuring their survival from government to government and indeed, generation to generation. The cartels breed corruption and unjust acts within the countries they operate in.

In the United States, the top most wanted gang is the Ms13, a very commonly well known gang. This gang is not just some want to be thug gang in some guy’s basement, trying to act all big and bad when they’re not. This is a very well organized and well thought out gang. “They are known for being a part of selling drugs, human trafficking, murder, contract killing, extortion and kidnapping.” Their territory would be considered Central America and the United States. Their exact location is not certain, that is part of what they do, stay unknown and it’s easier to do business like that. About 70,000 in the United States are members of the MS13. Something that you may have heard of them would be the kidnapping of the son of the Honduras president. (gangs.umd.edu)

Latin America is today the continent with major dates of murder of the world and his metropolises climb the ranking of the most violent cities of the planet (Perea, 2015). According to the study of the Civil Council for the Public Safety and the Penal Justice (2015), between the 50 most violent cities of the world 39 Latin Americans appear. Marked by the sexual inequity, the biggest indexes of inequality of the world and the aftermath of the colonization, the slavery and the dependency politician – economic Latin America is the region of the war against the drug and the drug trafficking, the region of the military dictatorships, the social movements, militias, the crowds, the bands, the commands and the paramilitary ones. Aspects as economic

Aranda, Salvador Maldonado. “Stories of Drug Trafficking in Rural Mexico: Territories, Drugs and Cartels in Michoacán”. Revista Europea de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe / European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 94 (2013): 43–66. JSTOR.Web.16 May. 2016

For example, as the report, Organized Crime in Central America: The Impact of US Policy, illustrates, Central America’s descent into a location of drug trafficking, violence, and corruption is more than just a matter of the drug trade being relocated from one area into another. Rather, the drug trade brings with it a variety of other social, economic, and political problems,

Drug cartels have grown and expanded throughout the interior and exterior of states for many years. The way drugs started to be introduced to Mexico, Colombia, and other places around the world was believed to be a myth. It was a tale that was known by many through storytelling, which over the years turned into an actual realistic issue. One of the most known cartels that existed for a long time was The Medellin Cartel. It became a subculture of its own, creating a world full of violence, women, money, firearms, death but most importantly power and fear. Located in Colombia this brutal subculture will show how they become one of the wealthiest subculture in the world surpassing even its own country’s riches.

Crime, death, and destruction in Latin America is a big issue that’s spreading around the whole world. It’s becoming a worldwide problem and it needs to be fixed. Trafficking drugs to other countries and what not, are the main cause of crime, death and destruction of property in Latin America. “According to police data, these countries collectively saw 17,422 murders in 2015, 11% more than in 2014. However, there are signs the security challenges are changing, both in Northern Triangle and across Central America as a whole.” This shows that murders are occurring more often than they should. El Salvador is increased in murders between 2014-15 and its one of the highest in the world. The