gang

MS13, MS-13 or Mara Salvatrucha Gang Profile

The Mara Salvatrucha, or MS13, is perhaps the most notorious street gang in the Western Hemisphere. While it has its origins in the poor, refugee-laden neighborhoods of 1980s Los Angeles, the gang’s reach now spans from Central America to Europe. A predatory criminal organization, the MS13 lives mostly from extortion. But the gang’s resilience owes to its strong social bonds, which are created and strengthened via … Read more

Opinion: El Salvador’s Gang Crackdown Is Working, but Criticism Over Human Rights Violations Continues

March 27, 2024, will be the second anniversary of the State of Exception, a security measure directed as a gang crackdown that has resulted in the arrest of over 75,000 alleged gang members and contributors. The drastic security measure by the Bukele administration began in late March 2022 after a … Read more

18th street or Barrio 18 Gang Profile

This story originally appeared on InsightCrime.org on March 11, 2019. It is republished by ElSalvadorINFO.net under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 license. The 18th Street Gang, also known as “Barrio 18,” is one of the largest youth gangs in the Western Hemisphere. Like its better known rival, the Mara Salvatrucha … Read more