Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area. Over time, the gang grew into a more traditional criminal organization.

Apr 19, 2017 · A string of brutal murders in the US has thrown a national spotlight on MS-13, a street gang that was born in LA but has roots in El Salvador.

According to the National Gang Intelligence center, MS-13 is a national and international criminal organization with more than 30,000 members in the world, and more than 10,000 in the United States. They regularly conduct gang activities in at least forty states and the District of Columbia.

Jan 17, 2025 · Earlier today and on January 16, 2025, in federal court in Central Islip, three members of the violent transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, pleaded guilty to multiple crimes, including nine murders committed on Long Island and elsewhere between 2016 and 2017.

Jan 18, 2025 · Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), international gang involved in drug and human smuggling, prostitution, murder, and extortion, among other illegal activities. It was founded in Los Angeles in the 1980s by immigrants from El Salvador and later spread throughout the United States, Central America, and Canada, gaining a reputation for extreme violence.

Jan 14, 2021 · “MS-13 is responsible for a wave of death and violence that has terrorized communities, leaving neighborhoods on Long Island and throughout the Eastern District of New York awash in bloodshed,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Seth D. DuCharme.

Nov 14, 2023 · The indictment returned November 8 and unsealed today alleges that an imprisoned MS-13 member who also was a member of the Mexican Mafia controlled MS-13 Los Angeles by imposing a rule on all the gang's Los Angeles-area cliques that required them to buy methamphetamine from Herlyn Barrientos, a.k.a. "Doctorazo," of Huntington Park, and others.