Highlights
-FBI launches Transnational Anti-Gang initiative to share intelligence on MS-13 between US and Salvadorian officials
-MS-13 has grown in sophistication and efficiency, as well as increased communication/coordination between cliques
-International scope of the gang’s activities underscores the need for continued cooperation between officials in the US and Central America
In early October 2007, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the launch of a new international partnership between the United States and El Salvador designed to target the activities of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. The new program, entitled the Transnational Anti-Gang (or TAG) initiative, focuses on increased coordination and collaboration between officials in the two nations, primarily through two FBI agents stationed in San Salvador who will work with investigators and analysts from the Policia Nacional Civil (the federal law enforcement agency of El Salvador) and share intelligence on MS-13 activities in the US and throughout Central America.
While the new FBI initiative will be an important tool in combating the activities of MS-13 in the homeland, the growth and increasing sophistication of the gang will continue to pose numerous challenges to US officials.
MS-13 Growing in Sophistication
Over the past two years, US officials have become increasingly concerned over the rising efficiency of MS-13. Specifically, several incidents/developments have highlighted the growing sophistication and precision of the gang’s operations.
-November 2005: In Houston, Texas, six members of MS-13 carried out a raid in a house where a rival gang had hidden drugs. According to police, the MS-13 members moved through the house like “a well-trained assault team,” using paramilitary tactics and high-powered weaponry, including an AK-47 assault rifle. The incident prompted an investigation to determine if MS-13 members in the US are receiving formal training in paramilitary tactics before they enter the country.
-According to the FBI, subsequent raids in both the US and Central America resulted in the discovery of gang “constitutions,” or codes of conduct that list punishments for members if they engage in disloyal activities. The documents were the first such organizational records of MS-13 that were found in the US.
-US officials have noted the creation of commerce routes across the country that MS-13 uses for its drug trafficking operations. Particularly, the gang has formed “theft crews” who steal over-the-counter medications that can be used to make other drugs. These stolen precursors are frequently sold to finance other MS-13 activities.
Increasing Communication Between MS-13 Cliques
Smaller groupings within the larger MS-13 gang structure are known as “cliques,” and over the past several years, US authorities have noted increased communication between cliques in the US, as well as between those in the US and those in Central America.
Reports from July 2007 indicated that MS-13 may be attempting to unify its members across the US in order to expand their operations throughout the country. US officials noted instances where the gang was working to centralize its activities between cliques in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington DC. Further, authorities identified instances where MS-13 members were sent to various parts of the US to organize and assist in the formation of new cliques (Previous Report).
US officials have also noted increased sophisticated communication, connections and directives between cliques based in the US and cliques based in Central America.
-According to an indictment announced in June 2007, Salvadorian leaders of MS-13 gave orders from their jail cells in El Salvador to members in Maryland to carry out criminal acts, including the murder of members of rival gangs.
-During testimony at a federal trial in 2006, government witnesses revealed that other MS-13 leaders in El Salvador sent members to Maryland to kill those in rival gangs. One of those sent to Maryland told local members that they should murder two rival gang members every week. However, local members rejected the idea, as it would bring too great attention from law enforcement.
Evidence gathered by US officials clearly shows increased coordination among MS-13 members, yet the extent and level of these connections is unknown.
The Challenges Ahead
US officials consider MS-13 the most dangerous street gang in the homeland, and there are an estimated 10,000 members throughout the country. The gang also poses numerous problems for countries throughout Central America, where there is an estimated combined membership of 60,000 in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.
In addition to other task forces and initiatives throughout the US designed to combat the activities of MS-13, US officials have previously worked with authorities in Central American countries to combat the gang. In 2006, US officials attended the second annual Gang Enforcement Conference in San Salvador, along with authorities from Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador, to exchange tactics and methods to employ against MS-13 in their respective countries.
Yet, numerous challenges remain. MS-13 has continued to strengthen over the past several years, including in the homeland.
•Of particular challenge to US officials are MS-13 gang members who commit crimes in the US, and then flee across the southern border, only to return once again to the US to commit further crimes.
The transnational communication between cliques highlights the international scope of the gang’s activities and underscores the need for continued and increased cooperation between officials in the US and Central America. Integrated transnational law enforcement targeting, such as the TAG initiative, will be key to diminishing the growth of MS-13 in the mid to long-term.
