The Mara Salvatrucha From Los Angeles

The Irish, Jewish, and Italian gangs started in the 1800’s, and the blacks and mexicans started in the 1940’s. Although there were many gangs, there were also gangs like the KKK which were formed to protect themselves from reconstruction of

Born in LA in the 1980’s, expanding to parts of Canada, Spain, England, and Germany becoming bigger and dangerous day by day. La Mara can now be found in Washington D.C, Oregon, Alaska, Arkansas, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida just alone in the United States. In Central America they can be found in El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala and several other Latin countries. MS-13 is considered to be one of the most dangerous and organized in the world (altereddimensions.net).There are two ways to get into the gang. For males one is to get jumped in, which means the new recruit is surround by numerous members and beaten for at least 13 seconds. The other way is by killing either an enemy gang member or just a simple killing. For females there is a third option which is to get having sexual intercourse with several MS members or as they call it gang banged. MS-13 has many similar criminal characteristics as other gang such as: smuggling drugs, people, and weapons. The biggest difference with MS-13 is the willingness to use brutality in all their activities (keysaferschools.com).

The gangs have formed part of Central America. For a long time, but in the early 1980s they began to work. There are numerous reasons for the gangs to grow because of the lack of education, culture of violence, poverty, and dysfunctional families. The two largest gangs are the Mara Salvatrucha known as MS-13 or Maras and The Eighteen Street gang also known as Barrio 18. The Barrio 18 despises MS 13. The rise of the Maras happened with the migration and the blend of different street cultures. The gang known as Barrio 18 was originally formed by Mexicans immigrants. Over the years, each gang has grown and taken up 60 percent of the population. These gangs have taken over the territories and have also controlled over some prisons

Chicano gangs have been a prominent part of the Los Angeles community since the early 1900s. These Chicano gangs consisted of young Mexican-Americans, another name used for Chicanos, which were formed as a way for some youth to identify with something. The behavior of gang members was a way of adapting to the social and economic living situation that was upon them. There was a large migration of Chicano immigrants to the Los Angeles area that resulted in several changes directly related to the larger and present Chicano presence. The most notable being the prominent presence of Chicano specific gangs. This is likely due to the fact that many people of Chicano descent are immigrants who came to America with little to nothing. This resulted in large groups of Chicanos being located in some of the poorest areas. Such areas became known as “barrios”, a Spanish term for neighborhood that became specifically in reference to the poor neighborhoods with a high Latino population. The people living in them were often working the lowest paid and hardest jobs needed by those of a higher class in society. It is commonly found that when poverty is heavy throughout a community, many youth will feel the need to act out in some way, and band together in their mutual discontent with their surrounding environment and society. In addition, many youth were also dealing with trying to identify themselves as something and weren’t sure if to identify themselves as latino, chicano, or something

. The shutting down of factories in South Central Los Angeles contributed to a number of gangs forming. Many African Americans moved to that particular part of the city because of how well the factories. The city also grew in population because of all the jobs that were available. When the jobs were gone and the factories shut down and move to other states the youth were left without role models. A fifteen year old boy named Raymond Washington started the gang which eventually became known as the Crips. Furthermore, with all of the other young people without jobs and role models they pulled together and started another gang of people that were not a part of the Crips. This gang will also change names a couple of times and become the Bloods.

Chapter one talks about gang’s early history, prison gangs did not start in prison, they had to be street gangs; Mexican Street gangs have been in California since the 1900. Mexican street gangs from the south side of Los Angeles had over 50,000 members 600 from different gangs. The founder of the Duell Vocational Institution (DVI) from Tracy, California was a man named Luis “Huero Buff” Flores. The original members of these street gangs we not in fact Mexican nationals but Citizens of the US. A majority of them spoke English and Calo and very few, close to none spoke Spanish. What shocked the author was that the members of the gang were at some point in time were rivals on the street. Flores created the gang but did not run it, the book says he made it so no one man controls the gang but instead everyone voted, and the majority won. He wanted all members to have equality.

Gangsters Without Borders by T.W. Ward is an ethnography about the El Salvadorian gang Mara Salvatrucha. Wards spent years earning the trust of these youth in order to complete his research. Starting out Ward had three broad goals in mind to develop a clear view of gang members and gang life. The second objective of Wards, “To observe how gang members changed over time as they matured into adulthood,” peaked my interest in this ethnography.

Gangs have existed in the United States for over 200 years. It all started when the first immigrants came to the U.S.A. Most of them came for a better life but many of them ended up in poverty. The first gangs were formed among poor adolescents who grouped together for the sake of socialisation and protection. They were of the same race or the same ethnic background. The first known gang specialized in crimes was called "The Five Points". They consisted of Irish immigrants and was established in New York City. They dressed in a specific way and used monikers or nicknames. Another early gang were the "Forty Thieves". Their gang leader was Edward Coleman and they formed in 1826. New York City's early gangs had an easy time of it because of

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

The newly formed Nuestra Familia engaged in prison war against the Mexican Mafia throughout the 70’s until the later 1970’s when a formal divide was acknowledged between the gangs. After the formal divide Nuestra Familia began making allies with other Californian Prison gangs like the Black Guerilla family to defeat a common enemy, The Mexican Mafia. On the other side the Mexican Mafia teamed up with the Aryan Brotherhood to combat the newly formed Nuestra Familia and Black Guerilla Family alliance. In order for the Nuestra Familia to gain power in the prisons it has to control the contraband coming in and out of prison. This is where the foot soldiers, the Norteños, came in handy. Norteños is a Spanish term for northerners. (Gangland, 2008) The Norteños operated under leadership from the Nuestra Familia members in prison. The Norteños used the trafficking of drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine to gain currency. They also had successful prostitution and identity theft rings to sustain their dominance in northern California. This held true, the power of the Nuestra Familia has infinitely grown since its beginning in the 60’s.

The Civil War in the early 1980s in El Salvador cost the lives of about 100,000 people. Besides, two million people are reported to have immigrated to the United States, due to the uncertain political and social conditions there. A big chunk of the refugees arrived and settled in the Rampart area of Los Angeles. They needed low cost housing and employment. That area was already afflicted with gangs and crimes. For the local population of Mexican-Americans, this was the most unwelcome development. The combustible youth immigrants from Salvador took the problem of their survival in response to the victimization at the hands of local gangs, as a serious challenge and formed a new gang by name Mara Salvatrucha,

The 1960’s or 1970’s is when gangs were originated. Gangs became a formation of protection against racial crimes being committed by whites. There were quite a few popular gangs such as the Slausons,

The Mexican Mafia, or “La Eme”, as they refer to themselves, is one of the most powerful and influential organized crime gangs in the United States. The organization has risen through the decades of mass gang wars and violence to become the power it is today. Their control is limitless and they have ventured far beyond the expectations of what was thought that gangs were capable of. They have infiltrated governments and manipulated politics. They have taken over neighborhoods and attempted to ethnically cleanse them. Innocent people have become caught up in the affairs of La Eme throughout its history and many have faced violence and death at their hands. This paper is a continual of the case analysis of the Mexican Mafia and will attempt to provide explanations for some of the crimes committed by this organization. Researching gangs and organized crime is important because of their large influence and control over many aspects of daily life. The significance of attempting to provide causations of their crimes can better provide the criminal justice system a clearer understanding of problems that lead to gang members committing crimes on behalf of the organization. A clearer understanding of problems can help the system to provide solutions to combat situations that inhibit crimes.

“The Republic of East L.A. Stories” captures the heartbreaking experiences Mexican-American’s were forced to endure. Escaping poverty, alcohol abuse, drug use, and gang violence was an everyday struggle for many families during this time. African American and Latino gangs were initially created as a response to white racism. They were restricted as to what areas they could live in and where constantly harassed. As their populations increased, so did white gangs, in order to take control of their “territory”. African Americans and Latinos had no choice but to protect their families by fighting back. As time went on, the violence only continued. The Civil Rights Movement led many gang members to join organizations like the Black Panther Party, but the government quickly responded by breaking them up and soon enough, street gangs quickly returned. The violence escalated, alcohol,

Street gangs in this country can probably be traced back to the first wave of Europeans who migrated to the colonies for a better life for themselves and their families. Many of the first gangs were formed as a means of self protection, with the thinking that there is simply strength in numbers. The missions of gangs in today’s society have grown and emerged to include many violent criminal avenues, including drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and extortion but the original thinking that there is strength in numbers remains true. Criminology experts believe that the number of teens involved in gangs or gang activity may be as high as 1 in every 5 people in most urban areas. Those number jump to 1 in every 3 people in