| Commission says Central American Mara gangs have taken root in Mexico |
| Thursday, 03 April 2008 22:39 |
SecurityCornerMexico.com Recommended READING: Mara Salvatrucha by Wikipedia; MS-13 gang growing extremely dangerous, FBI says by USA TODAY; The Fight Against MS-13 by CBS's 60 Minutes; Gangs USA & Public Safety
MS-13 gang member with gang's name tattooed on his back Copyrights for details.)
ASSOCIATED PRESS, 3:35 p.m. April 2, 2008 MEXICO CITY – Central America's brutal Mara gangs have taken root in Mexico because law enforcement is too busy fighting drug smuggling to go after them, a government commission charged Wednesday. Some 5,000 members now are active in about 200 cells in Mexico, the governmental National Human Rights Commission reported, calling the gangs' rise a problem of national security. “This is negligence on the part of the government,” Commission head Jose Luis Soberanes said as he presented the scathing three-year study. The Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha gangs are known throughout Central America and in some U.S. cities for their brazen tactics, which often include beheading their enemies. Many Mara members moved into Mexico after Central American nations began implementing tough anti-gang laws in recent years. Some travel through Mexico to reach the United States. In the southern state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, 63 percent of the Mara members detained by authorities are Mexican citizens, indicating the gangs have truly taken root here, the commission said. “They have become Mexicanized,” said Raul Plascencia, a commission inspector. Soberanes said police in Mexico are ill-prepared to deal with the problem, and in many cases don't even spot the gang affiliation of detained Mara members. Some researchers say the gangs first formed in Los Angeles in the 1980s, attracting Salvadorans who fled to the United States to escape civil war. A decade later, after many of the members were deported for crimes committed in the United States, the gangs established themselves in Central America. The Maras are believed to number about 100,000 in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. As many as 30,000 also operate in the United States, mostly in Los Angeles, according to U.S. federal authorities. © Copyright 2007 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. January 1998 Los Angeles Magazine AssessmentLocal law-enforcement agencies report that gang membership has soared in the last few years. "No neighborhood is safe anymore," says Sgt. Wes McBride, a nationally recognized gang expert with the L.A. County Sheriffs Department. "No one's truly immune." He says the safest communities are Beverly Hills, San Marino and Brentwood; everyone else is just fooling himself if he thinks he's out of harm's way. How many "boyz" are there? It's hard to say, since gangs rarely cooperate with the U.S. Census. The sheriffs department estimates that the county is home to 150,000 gangbangers in more than 1,300 gangs. Among ethnic gangs, the breakdown is Hispanic, 667 gangs; black, 386; and Asian, 151. White motorcycle and skinhead gangs (14) have been pushed into rural nether regions such as the Antelope Valley. Complete Article, HERE
Los Angeles Police Department by Wikipedia April 2008 Information from Official Website: Gangs are not a new phenomenon. During the last five years, there were over 23,000 verified violent gang crimes in the City of Los Angeles. These include 784 homicides, nearly 12,000 felony assaults, approximately 10,000 robberies and just under 500 rapes. In the last few years the City of Los Angeles has experienced an epidemic of youth violence that has been rapidly spreading from the inner cities to the suburbs. Gangs are no longer just the problem of those who live in the crime ridden neighborhoods where the gangs thrive, they are now everyone’s problem. There are more than 250 active gangs in the City of Los Angeles. Many of these gangs have been in existence for over 50 years. Sadly, these gangs have a combined membership of over 26,000 individuals. More information, HERE.
Federal Bureauof Investigation, by Wikipedia All you need to know about MARA SALVATRUCHA
Gang tags in Cincinnati. There are some 800,000 members in an estimated 30,000 gangs in the U.S., according to U. S. Department of Justice figures.
A suspected gang member wears his tattoo discreetly. General gang trends show that gang members continue to expand their criminal activities into smaller U.S. communities.
Two FBI Agents who take down gangs on the streets of New Jersey. Courtesy of John O'Boyle, the Newark Star-Ledger. Even with our post-9/11 national security responsibilities, we continue to play a key role in combating violent crime and major thefts in big cities and local communities across the U.S. Thousands of our agents work closely with their state and local partners on investigations and joint task forces. We add value in those cases not only through our broad range of investigative expertise, but also by tapping into a network of agents across county, state, and even national borders. We have a surge capacity that can deliver extensive support during major investigations, and we make our various capabilities available upon request—from our evidence experts to our behavioral analysts.
Beyond our casework, we’re always looking at the bigger picture—analyzing trends and threats and sharing that intelligence with our partners. At the same time, we’ve built and continue to manage a criminal justice support structure for the entire law enforcement community, including state-of-the-art forensic services and databases of criminal and fingerprint records that can be accessed from any squad car. Learn more here about our programs and services. Major Thefts & Violent Crimes
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| Last Updated on Thursday, 03 April 2008 23:58 |
