The El Salvadoran Government Adopted

The word gang-everyone knows what it means or what it stands for. Of course by the time children get to the end of their elementary years they’ve heard of know gangs such as; the Cribs, Bloods, Latin Kings, Vatos Locos, but none of those names cause as much fear and terror as the gang called La Mara Salvatrucha aka MS-13. La Mara known for their psychotic methods of killing and running their turf, no other gang comes close to causing the same fear as La Mara Salvatrucha (ms-13gang.com). Forced to abandon their home land due to the civil war in El Salvador, the adventure to the U.S. was good at the start but soon the odds turned against them. Therefore for their

Given these circumstances, El Salvador’s economy was largely shaped by the Guatemalan elite. Although, Guatemala had size and power, El Salvador was able to resist takeovers but it left them tough and often violent, leaving the perfect atmosphere to foster El Salvador’s gangs. Likewise, El Salvador has also had a history of violence because of the Salvadoran Civil War that lasted from 1979 to 1992. This civil war took the lives of approximately 80,000 soldiers and civilians in El Salvador (Wood, 1). The Civil War separated families as some were granted temporary protection in the United States during the war, and while others lived as undocumented migrants. Once the war ended, many migrants were sent back to El Salvador where conditions were not good. With a government recovering from a war, gangs saw an opportunity to build and start battling for territory. There are an estimated 25,000 gang members at large in El Salvador, while roughly another 9,000 are in prison (Guillermoprieto, 2). The two major gangs that rule El Salvador are MS13, which stands for Mara Salvatrucha, and Barrio 18, which references “18th Street” in Los

Originating in the United States, ms-13 and similar gangs have had a devastating impact on central America. This article describes the origins from the United States and how through the Los Angeles Riots and other tough on crime policies had the effect of placing many immigrants and criminals back in their home country of central America. The deportees some of that might have been criminals and taken to the United States as children, united in desperation to become ms-13. The article further describes the brutality that the gangs have committed in the region. Through drug trade, smuggling and senseless murder, life in central America has been disturbed by gangs and have become a national security there. The dangers of gangs in central America

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.

Supporters of the law were worried when the court initially reached out to consider the

After generations of oppression, there comes a moment when the people that are being governed unjustly must rise against their oppressor and end the tyranny that is being done to them, even at the cost of death. After centuries of enslaved people, set forth by Spanish colonization, in EL Salvador a social political system developed that placed power, authority, and, most importantly, land directly in the hands of a few Spanish progeniture families. This type of system exploited the indigenous people and uneducated farmers to plow the fields to produce cash crops that yielded a sizeable profit for those elite families. Several attempts by the native people and farmers to change the status quo was met with a decisive and crushing blow by a military

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.

Have people ever heard about El Salvador? If they have, they probably heard about its high homicide rates and criminal gangs (CIA World). Unfortunately, the beauty of this Spanish-speaking country gets overshadowed by these negative traits. However, El Salvador has much more to offer such as its history, geography, culture, economy, and climate; characteristics that build up this Central American country.

As the civil war in El Salvador carried on from 1980 through 1992, thousands migrated into the United States in search of better living conditions. Many of the Salvadorian families established themselves amongst Latino Neighborhoods, especially in the Los Angeles area. Salvadorians were essentially at the bottom of the food chain were they found discrimination and the struggle of being in a foreign country. As a result, they created gangs as self defense groups for the Latino community, many used the phrase, “Vivo por mi madre, muero pro mi barrio” as a promise to defend their neighborhoods and their people (Garsd, J., 2015).

In 1979, a civil war broke out in El Salvador between government soldiers and civilians. The war lasted for more than a decade and left blood as well as approximately 700,000 refugees. These refugees also included former military combatants. In the 1980’s vast amounts of the refugees migrated to Los Angeles (LA), which is the home of 1,000+ gangs. The refugees were not welcomed to LA and became ostracized in the Hispanic community as it had been controlled by Mexican street gangs (Eighteenth Street gang). This caused some of the refugees to form a group of their own. The new gang became known as the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners (MS Stoners). The gang begins as a group who was all about smoking week and having a good time. Over time, they started to grow and aggressively sell drugs. In doing this they, imposed on the Mexican gang’s territory. In the summer of 1990, a fight broke out between the two gangs and a member of the MS Stoners was shot. This started a war between the two groups. The war escalated and became so violent that innocent people were getting hurt. The Mexican mafia saw how bad the war was for business, so they intervened to put an end to the bloodshed. The Mexican mafia divided up the territory between the two gangs. Shortly after this meeting the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners dropped Stoners from their name and added the number thirteen to show respect to the Mexican mafia. With the support of the Mexican mafia and Eighteenth Street, Mara Salvatrucha Thirteen

The United States sought an injunction to prevent the law’s implementation in its entirety by challenging provisions 2b, 3, 5c, and 6 of the bill. The district court granted preliminary injunction and the Ninth Circuit affirmed. After which, Arizona filed for appeal, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari on December 12, 2011.

Most of the members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang are primarily Salvadorans. This gang was founded in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Due to the immigration issue and the fear that the people have of the MS-13 in the United States, Trump administration is planning to get rid of the temporary protected status (TPS) to improve the situation. The TPS gives the opportunity to around 200,000 Salvadorans to live and work in the United States. The fact that Trump is planning to revoke the TPS concerns many people because they fear that the United States will end up with unintended consequences like back in the 1980s.

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.

In addition to gaining and keeping control is through fear and chaos. a recent uncovered discovery is how gangs also interfere with  local governments trying to gain power. The survey shows that it has not gone unnoticed by Salvadorans, who tend to blame their government for not getting the peace and order to the people. The  Police Chief Howard Cotto of El salvador has known gangs are continuing efforts to interfere with local politics ahead of the country's upcoming elections that is happening in March of next year.  Cotto explained that gangs offer help secure votes for a running candidates to help bring down levels of insecurity  in exchange for benefits such as weapons, protection, and providing jobs for the gangs for leverage.

Throughout 1939-1971, El Salvador was run by a military-style dictatorship, causing those who had land and wealth to be stripped from them just because they could. According to Encyclopedia Britannica the persistence of this dictatorship can be partly credited to Augustin Farabundo Marti, who forced the Salvadorian Communist Party (2017). Proving to be a catalyst for conflicts for years to come.