Ask anyone about the world’s most dangerous gangs and you might get answers like the Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings or MS-13. While these are all extremely violent criminal organizations, there is one group that makes them look tame in comparison.
An elusive network of small cells operating across Eastern Europe and Central Asia has become a global crime empire with tentacles in everything from cyber fraud to arms smuggling. The group also supplies contract killers around the world. Its foot soldiers use industrial poisons to assassinate rivals targets.
History
The gang was created by Central American immigrants in Los Angeles in the 1980s to protect themselves from other gangs. During this time, El Salvador was experiencing a civil war that led many people, especially young men, to flee their homes and come to the United States.
This migration of people helped spread Mara Salvatrucha throughout North America. Today, it operates all across the U.S., Mexico and Canada with around 10,000 members total according to some estimates.
What Does Ms 13 Stand For?
MS-13 stands for Mara Salvatrucha, but the gang is sometimes called La Mara or MS and Cliques. They are also known as the “Mara Street Gangsters” or simply, “Maras.”
What Do Ms 13 Tattoos Mean
The letters MS stand for Mara Salvatrucha. An S with a 13, which resembles a barcode,
is the common tattoo that members get to show their loyalty to the gang. The devil’s tail and pitchfork on the left side of some tattoos means they are willing to die for the gang.
Skulls usually indicate someone was killed, but it can also mean danger or violence.
Crime
Mara Salvatrucha has become perhaps best known for its use of machetes during gruesome attacks on rivals in El Salvador and in immigrant communities in the United States such as Long Island,
New York; Washington D.C.; Northern Virginia; Houston and Los Angeles County. In 2004, U.S authorities started
MS-13 Criminal Activites
Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) has spread throughout North America. It operates in at least 42 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Belize and Canada.
The gang’s wide-ranging activities make it what one former U.S. assistant attorney general calls “the most dangerous gang out there right now.”
Federal prosecutors have gone so far as to call MS-13 a “transnational criminal organization.” An FBI expert on the gang says that while they’re involved in many crimes like extortion, prostitution rings and theft, their main source of income is from selling drugs such as crack cocaine and heroin
The Gang Locations
The gang has cells in Germany, Italy, the United States and Canada.
Their rise was rapid. In 2007, Interpol’s Operation Infra-Structure targeted a drug smuggling ring run by the gang based in Kosovo. Police arrested nearly 200 people and confiscated $4 million worth of drugs and weapons. But this didn’t put a dent in their operations.
By 2012, there were nearly 10 times as many members running an expanding crime empire that spanned from Europe to North America to Asia to Africa.
Cells
While each cell is part of the larger gang network they are mostly autonomous when it comes to criminal activities like smuggling or selling contraband items on the black market or recruiting local services like accountants or computer experts when needed.
Arms Smuggling
Mara Salvatrucha gets many of its firearms from El Salvador. It can buy them legally with clean paperwork or steal them from police and other security personnel. They have on occasion smuggled assault rifles from Mexico, but mostly rely on pistols (usually 9mm) and knives for their weapons.
When they need more firepower, they either steal it in a “smash-and-grab” style attack or make improvised explosive devices using grenades they
Black Market Services
Mara Salvatrucha doesn’t stop at running contraband items like fake designer clothes, pirated movies and stolen cars across borders and selling them on the black market.
Members are also involved in human trafficking, forcing women into prostitution rings for their own gain without concern for the women’s safety or well being. Individuals who refuse to participate are often punished by beatings
Conclusion
By combining a wide range of criminal activities, Mara Salvatrucha has become an international crime empire. It traffics in drugs and contraband and earns money through human trafficking,
extortion and smuggling stolen cars. As one expert explains, “They’ve evolved far beyond just being a street gang. They’re like the Fortune 500 company” of organized crime.
MS 13 Documentary:
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