According to The Washington Times, MS-13 "is thought to have established a major smuggling center" in Mexico.^[13] There were reports that MS-13 members were ordered to Arizona to target border guards and Minuteman Project volunteers.^[14][15].

In 2005, Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez and the President of El Salvador raised alarm by claiming that Al-Qaeda was meeting with MS-13 and other Central American gangs to help them infiltrate the United States. FBI agent Robert Clifford said that the U.S. intelligence community and governments of several Central American countries found there is no basis to believe that MS-13 is connected to Al-Qaeda or other Islamic radicals although he did visit Central America to discuss the issue.^[16]

Robert Morales, a prosecutor for Guatemala, indicated to The Globe and Mail that some Central American gang members seek refugee status in Canada. Superintendent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police integrated gang task force, John Robin, said in an interview that "I think [gang members] have a feeling that police here won't treat them in the harsh manner they get down there".^[17] Robin noted that Canadian authorities "want to avoid ending up like the U.S., which is dealing with the problem of Central American gangsters on a much bigger scale".^[17]

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Etymology

There are various possible explanations for the name Mara Salvatrucha. Some sources state the gang is named for La Mara, a street in San Salvador, and the Salvatrucha guerrillas who fought in El Salvador's bloody civil war ^[18]. Additionally, the word mara means gang in Caliche and is taken from marabunta, the name of a fierce type of ant. "Salvatrucha" is a portmanteau of Salvadoran and trucha, a Caliche word for being alert, usually entailing preparedness for crime or abuse from police.

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Gang markings and hand signs

An MS suspect bearing gang tattoos is handcuffed. In 2004, the FBI created the MS-13 National Gang Task Force. A year later, the FBI helped create National Gang Intelligence Center.

Many Mara Salvatrucha members cover themselves in tattoos. Common markings include "MS", "Salvatrucha" the "Devil Horns" the name of their clique and other symbols.^[19] A December 2007 CNN internet news article stated that the gang was moving away from the tattoos in an attempt to commit crimes without being noticed. ^[20]

Members of Mara Salvatrucha, like members of most modern American gangs, utilize a system of hand signs for purposes of identification and communication. One of the most commonly displayed is the "devil's head" (formed by extending the index and little fingers of the hand while tucking in the middle and ring fingers with the thumb), which forms an M when displayed upside down. This hand sign is similar to the same symbol commonly seen displayed by heavy metal musicians and their fans. Founders of Mara Salvatrucha borrowed the hand sign after attending concerts of Black Sabbath and other heavy metal bands they liked.^[21]

Congressmen Tom Tancredo, Republican Representative from Colorado, cited concerns about reports of MS13 graffiti appearing in Iraq during questioning of General Petraeus. The implication was that gang members had entered the United States military. The congressmen went further to imply that military tactics were later being employed in gang activities.

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See also

• List of California street gangs
• Gangs in the United States

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References

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External links

• MS-13 Current News and Analysis
• "18 with a Bullet" Wide Angle PBS
• "How the Street Gangs Took Central America" May/June 2005 Foreign Affairs
• "For Salvadoran gangs, jail is a revolving door" March 1, 2005 The Christian Science Monitor
• "Gangs, Terrorists, and Trade" April 12, 2007 in Foreign Policy In Focus
• "World's Most Dangerous Gang", National Geographic Television production on Google Video
• [3] National Geographic post-investigation essay.
• Spotlight on MS-13 gang, New York Times, 19 August 2007