10 September 2007

Spotlight on Mexican Gang Mara Salvatrucha a/k/a MS-13

Mara Salvatrucha better known as the ominous "MS-13"

I'd heard scattered bits and pieces about these dudes over the years but most recently several MS-13 members & probies were connected to the awful execution-style killings of three college bound teenagers in a Newark schoolyard on 4 August. And it has been speculated that this was some sort of gang initiation. The three victims were forced to kneel against a wall and were shot fatally at close range by a fucking 15-year old!

In the early 1980's a civil war erupted in El Salvador killing as estimated 100,000 people. Its estimated that between one and two million people have immigrated to the U.S. as a result of the unstable environment in El Salvador.

The first large population of El Salvadorian refuges settled in the Rampart area of Los Angeles. This influx of immigrants looking for low cost housing and employment was not readily welcomed by the Mexicans who were already residing in that area; an area which was already overcrowded and plagued with gangs and crime.



These immigrant Salvadorian youth and young adults were soon were victimised by local gangs. A group of Salvadorian immigrants created a new gang calling themselves Mara Salvatrucha also known as MS-13.

It is believed they got their name from combining the name of “La Mara”, a violent street gang in El Salvador ("Mara" refers to the Spanish word for "army ant") with "Salvatruchas", a term used to denote members of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front who were a group of Salvadorian peasants trained as guerrilla fighters. The “13” was added to pay homage to the California prison gang, the Mexican Mafia.

The "devil's head" hand signal, which forms an "M" when displayed upside down was copied by the founders of MS-13 after their visits to rock concerts. Mexicans love their metal. Jut ask Disassociate.

MS-13 quickly became known as one of the most violent gangs in the area because many of their founding members had experience or training in guerrilla warfare, thus gaining a level of sophistication that superseded their rivals.

Various members of the newly formed MS-13 were soon arrested and deported back to El Salvador. Quickly and unexpectedly, MS-13 flourished in the prison system and recruitment began on the streets in El Salvador, while the gang continued to grow in the United States as well.

Mara Salvatrucha has since become Central America’s greatest problem. In addition to violent acts committed by the gang against citizens and gang rivalries, the gang has even engaged in organised violent acts against the government.

In 1997 the son of Honduras President Ricardo Maduro was kidnapped and murdered by MS-13 members. MS-13 members have continued to taunt Central American government officials. Members also left a dismembered corpse with a note for the Honduras president that “more people will die… the next victims will be police and journalists.”

In 2004, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger received a similar messages attached to the body of a dismembered man from MS-13 members.

In 2002 in the city of Tegucigalpa in the Honduras, the MS fun time express boarded a public bus and immediately executed 28 people including 7 small children. Again, they left a message written on the front of the bus taunting government officials.

Those convicted were MS gangleaders. One of them, Juan Bautista Jimenez, who was accused of masterminding the attack, was killed in prison. According to the authorities he was hanged by fellow MS-13 inmates. I hope it was because they killed 7 children on that bus.

Over the past few years there has been numerous speculation and discussion regarding Central America’s death squads. The existence of death squads for political purposes has been a frequent occurrence in history.

In El Salvador in the 1980's a vigilante group was identified known as Sombra Negra, or Black Shadow were extremely active in attempting to remove criminal elements from their society. It is believed that this group felt their judicial system was not apt at dealing with the nation’s problems, so they became what some would call “self-appointed executioners of justice.” Oooh, like Punisher!

Compared to similar groups of years past, Sombra Negra receives little attention or mention from the media. This may be in part because they do not engage in massive executions, but instead kill their victims individually or in small groups. In addition their victims are almost exclusively gang members and other criminals and many Salvadorians support the idea of removing this undesirable element from their country.

One MS-13 gang member who was deported used a cheese grater to scrape off his MS-13 tattoos so he would not be discovered should he be stopped by Sombra Negra.

World's Most Dangerous Gang by Lisa Ling

CBS News: Authorities in New Jersey say a sixth suspect in the execution-style murders of three college students is now in custody.

MS-13 News and Analysis: The premier site for news and analysis of Mara Salvatrucha A.K.A. MS-13 and other related criminal organisations.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mexicans are from Mexico. Salvatruchas aren't. The 13 was not to pay homage to the Mexican Mafia as they were the enemy.

Anonymous said...

Ok well im Salvadorian and my family were some of the immigrants who came to the United States. And you are pretty much right except that Mara does not mean Army ant it means a group of no good people. For example in spanish you would use the term if there is a group off guys just bugging everyone and doin no good things we would say "ohhh look there comes la mara" as in a group of people who are up to no good.
Thats the best way i can explain it.
Now yeah your right there was a group who went around killing gang members but htey werent called "Sombra negra" they were called "El Escuadron De La Muerte" in other words A group of people who specialized in murder. Also best way i can explain it. And i tell this because thats also why when Salvedorians came to the USA they were so mean because El escuadron de la muerte went around killing people and they didnt very violently they ran into there homes in the middle of the night took them out of bed and killed them right outside there home infront of there family. So the kids that saw there that grew up with hatetred and were very disturbed.
My mom tells me storys of when she use to live over there and she would hear the cries of the guys begging for their lives.

Anonymous said...

LA MARA SALVATRUCHA is not from mexico OK! It is the most dangerous gang of the US.the bigest rival they have is the 18 street gang.also origined in EL SALVADOR. Hey! Let me tell you something I'M SALVADOREAN 4 LIFE hahaha.

Anonymous said...

I dont give a rats fuck what anyone has to say about us we are doing the nations a favor first we started in El Slavador to rid the nation of corruption within government then in the US now we opperate in over 23 different countries we will finish what we started and we wont stop until we do

Unknown said...

Ms is not a Mexican gang it's a savadorian gang made by salvadorians

Anonymous said...

Mara is a salvadorian gang made by salaforians not mexicans