MS-13 stands for Mara Salvatrucha, a Latin American gang that is one of the biggest and cruelest gangs in the world, consisting of 70,000 members. MS-13 is active in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Long Island, New York, the Boston area, North Carolina and Texas. There is also a presence of MS in Toronto and Ontario. The gang was formed in Los Angeles, California in the 1980s due to immigrant Salvadorian youth and young adults being victimized by other gangs. MS became one of the most violent gangs in the area because their founders had experience in guerrilla warfare.
MS is involved in all aspects of criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, robbery, larceny, human trafficking, extortion, prostitution, illegal immigration, murder, racketeering, battery, kidnapping and arms trafficking. They are also heavily involved in burglaries such as auto and home thefts. MS-13’s main victims are rival gang members, such as members from the Bloods, Crips, Tijuana Cartel and 18th Street Gang.
MS-13 members identify themselves through various gang indicators such as tattoos, clothing, graffiti and hand signs. Older and more active gang members and members directly from El Salvador tend to have larger and more prominent tattoos. The gang colors are blue and black, and gang members sometimes wear blue or black bandanas, New York Yankee apparel and Nike Air Jordan hats with the Air Jordan logo that resembles their hand sign. MS members use graffiti to mark gang territory. There are cliques all over which are organized with a leader, treasurer and soldiers that range from 10 to 500 members. They recruit members over 10 years of age and lure them with parties that offer sex, drugs and alcohol. Membership into the gang is earned with a beat or jump that lasts 13 seconds and failure to carry out an order is punishable sometimes by death. Once in the gang, leaving is difficult without enduring severe consequences. One of the only exceptions is if the gang member has a child and wants to start a family.
MS is involved in all aspects of criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, robbery, larceny, human trafficking, extortion, prostitution, illegal immigration, murder, racketeering, battery, kidnapping and arms trafficking. They are also heavily involved in burglaries such as auto and home thefts. MS-13’s main victims are rival gang members, such as members from the Bloods, Crips, Tijuana Cartel and 18th Street Gang.
MS-13 members identify themselves through various gang indicators such as tattoos, clothing, graffiti and hand signs. Older and more active gang members and members directly from El Salvador tend to have larger and more prominent tattoos. The gang colors are blue and black, and gang members sometimes wear blue or black bandanas, New York Yankee apparel and Nike Air Jordan hats with the Air Jordan logo that resembles their hand sign. MS members use graffiti to mark gang territory. There are cliques all over which are organized with a leader, treasurer and soldiers that range from 10 to 500 members. They recruit members over 10 years of age and lure them with parties that offer sex, drugs and alcohol. Membership into the gang is earned with a beat or jump that lasts 13 seconds and failure to carry out an order is punishable sometimes by death. Once in the gang, leaving is difficult without enduring severe consequences. One of the only exceptions is if the gang member has a child and wants to start a family.
**light-red indicates territories with a lighter presence, dark-red indicates territories with a strong presence