Mara Salvatrucha is a large gang involved in criminal activities throughout the world. The gang's name is commonly abbreviated as MS-13, Mara, MS, and is composed of mostly Salvadorans. The MS-13 gang has cliques, or factions, located throughout the United States and is unique in that it retains its ties to its Salvadoran counterparts.
Their membership is believed to total over 50,000 in the United States alone.[1] MS-13 criminal activities include drug smuggling and sales, black market gun sales, human trafficking, assassinations for hire, theft, and assaults on law enforcement officials.[2] Their activities have caught the eye of the FBI, who in September 2005 initiated wide-scale raids against suspected gang members, netting 650 arrests across the country.[3]
Former gang member Brenda Paz said that MS 13 is well structured, with multiple leaders, and that MS' goal was to become the top gang in the United States.[3]