Beware MS-13

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning of a street gang, primarily comprised of illegal aliens from Central America, that has spread rapidly across the United States. MS-13 is especially known for the high level of violence committed during its crimes. Their signature weapon - the machete and other blunt instruments.

MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, are primarily Salvadoran nationals, but members have also been found from Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and other Central and South American nations. The FBI has elevated the threat risk of the gang to "high" in certain parts of the country, primarily in the west and northeast.

Membership in the loosely-organized street gang is estimated at roughly 10,000, and the FBI has not identified any national leadership of the gang - yet. The FBI does know that the various local branches of the gang keep in contact with other cells, primarily in Los Angeles where it is believe the gang gained its foothold in the United States earlier this decade. The individual cliques work together in recruitment and to organize activities.

In an official statement from the FBI, they say "We do believe that Los Angeles gang members have an elevated status among their MS-13 counterparts across the country, a system of respect that could potentially evolve into a more organized national leadership structure."

In 2006, the FBI identified that the gang was operating in 36 states, and has spread its web of drug distribution, murder, rape, prostitution, robbery, home invasions, immigration offenses, kidnapping, carjackings/auto thefts, and vandalism to 42 states, most recently expanding into the southeast.

Expansion and recruitment methods of the gang have been identified. Gang members are moving into areas with a high number of employers who do not check for citizenship status, take a job using falsified documentation, then begin their recruitment of new members, primarily in local high schools, but also by absorbing smaller, less violent street gangs.

Mara Salvatrucha is known for its intimidation and violence against members of other gangs and police officers, and often add assault and homicide during their burglaries and home invasions.

The FBI is working with law enforcement in Central American nations to coordinate efforts to combat this particularly vicious, yet tech-savvy, street gang. The gang uses the internet as another means of recruitment, using images and video to glorify their gang lifestyle.

In 2006, 73 members of the gang were arrested in a multi-national effort.