10 Ghastly Facts About MS-13, The World’s Most Dangerous Gang

6 /10 They've Been A Threat For Decades

You’ve probably heard that they’re a recent threat, developed in the past ten years. But the necessary foundations of MS-13 date back further.

But as we’ve mentioned, the gang was created in the 1970s, and their presence had not gone unnoticed. In 1994, the FBI formed a task force to combat the organization, and they have continued to grow over the last 30 years. Today, they are a long-standing presence in many parts of the country.

5 /10 Human Trafficking Horrors

Numerous prostitution cases connected to MS-13 all over the country have dealt with teenagers and preteens.

In 2011, a member was arrested and convicted of recruiting prostitutes from a youth prison camp in Fairfax, Virginia. The gang often targets young and vulnerable people in their various human trafficking operations.

4 /10 Expansion To Spain

There is evidence of them operating in Europe. Five cells were arrested in the Spanish Cities of Barcelona and Alicante.

The men were charged with robbery and drug pedaling, but they were also trying to open restaurants and bars in Spain meant to launder money for the gang. These arrests represent a broader international expansion of the organization.

3 /10 The Real Problem

While MS-13 is by no means a threat to be taken lightly, sociologist David Pyrooz of the University of Colorado says that putting them in the spotlight the way the right has missed the point. 

“They are the moral panic; the connection to immigration, the connection to Latinos, and then the heinous violence, makes it so they can function as this evil boogeyman […] But it’s hard to be able to focus specifically on them without paying more attention to […] gang activity as a whole.”

2 /10 Rivals

Gangs operate like animals in nature, with natural enemies. In this case, their chief rival is the 18th Street Gang, or Calle 18, as they are known in Central America. Like MS-13, they’re one of the most vicious gangs operating under the watch of the FBI. 

Their primary source of income is drugs, putting them in direct competition with MS-13, and as a result, blood has been shed all over America. In 2019, an 18th Street gangster was shot by his rival onboard a Queen’s subway train.

1 /10 How To Stop Them

The only way to stop a gang, Pyrooz stresses, is to get them involved in social programs, show them ways to make money for themselves in legal forms, and provide such opportunities and perhaps encourage parenthood. Traditionally, there’s little more that makes a person reconsider a life of crime than stable family life. 

As for the children involved, it is getting them in other programs related to church and other social services is necessary.

“It’s hard to prevent kids from getting involved in gangs, but what we want to be able to do is to blunt the negative impact while they’re involved,” he says.

While not foolproof or guaranteed, efforts toward combating recruitment and providing opportunities for those willing to reform as some of the best options we have for slowing their growth, influence, and terror.