The Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) is the hemisphere’s largest, most formidable and increasingly its most sophisticated street gang. This ongoing investigative series tackles its evolution from various perspectives.
About this Project
These reports are the result of field work done for a multi-year research initiative evaluating the transnational criminal capacity of the MS13 in the US and El Salvador by InSight Crime and American University’s Center for Latin American & Latino Studies, with funding from the National Institute of Justice.
Related articles
From Street Gangs to Presidents: InSight Crime’s Decade of Covering the Underworld
At InSight Crime’s 10th anniversary conference, presenter Robert Muggah described the primary reaction he has received when collaborating with the organization across Brazil,...
How President Donald Trump Has Impacted Organized Crime in Latin America
When it comes to combating organized crime and drug trafficking, US President Donald Trump has chosen to strongarm his Latin American counterparts rather than engage in diplomacy, threatening them and pushing unilateral policies that largely...
El Salvador Seizing Thousands of Guns but Flow of Weapons Continues
Salvadoran authorities recently claimed that an anti-gang campaign has led to thousands of weapons being seized. But the numbers and types of weapons seized are unlikely to make a real difference to gangs and do nothing to halt the flow of weapons entering El...