(MS13) MARA SALVATRUCHA
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Mara Salvatrucha, known throughout Los Santos as the West Side (W/S) Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) is a predominantly Central American street gang formed in Los Santos, San Andreas during the late 1970's. The criminal gang was formed in the now-gentrified Little Seoul neighbourhood of Westside Los Santos. Criminal groups of Central American refugees were first documented by the Los Santos police in 1982. The criminal gang grew from the undocumented Central American population throughout the 1980s, and by 1988, had became an established gang in the United States. In the decades since its inception, the Mara Salvatrucha have grown from being a ragtag group of marijuana-smoking heavy metal enthusiasts into a transnational criminal enterprise.
The first community, or barrio, for Central Americans in Los Santos was formed in Little Seoul. At the time, Little Seoul was an impoverished neighbourhood of Westside Los Santos with a predominant Latino and Asian demographic. It had not yet undergone any gentrification and had a reputation for its high rates of violent gang activity. Although Little Seoul's first Salvadoran barrio was established in 1979, other similar barrios were formed elsewhere in West Los and Vinewood during the decade. The first community leaders for these barrios were refugees and economic migrants who left El Salvador during the civil war. Legal entities and other organizations were created in the communities, by Latino Americans, to help their immigrant counterparts with settling into the country. Because many of the Salvadorans in particular were refused asylum upon entering the United States, they were classified as illegal immigrants. Throughout the decade because of this, more Central Americans from the Northern Triangle nations came to the United States without any documentation.Ethnic conflicts in the streets between Central Americans and the already established Mexican Americans quickly became commonplace. This was due to the incompatible cultural differences between the Central Americans and the Chicano sub-culture. In particular, Salvadorans were widely discriminated against by Mexican Americans through being denied local jobs, experiencing physical removals from community association centers and getting harassed while peacefully living in their neighbourhoods.These cultural differences resulted in ethnic clashing between Central Americans and Mexican Americans over a period of several years, encompassing much of the 1980s and parts of the 1990s. Many of these clashes came in the form of street brawls and violent crimes involving edged weapons and firearms. Criminal elements within the Salvadoran community in particular, later identified as the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners by the Los Santos police, were found to be responsible for instigating much of these violent clashes.
Although the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners had originated as a criminal gang of juvenile delinquents with an interest in heavy rock music and consuming cannabis, it had morphed into a brutally vicious and violent gang by the end of the 1980s. This barbarity was borne out of their clashes with Chicanos in the streets, where they brought their experiences as insurgents in the Salvadoran Civil War with them. In the early 1990s, the Mara Salvatrucha in Los Santos fell under the leadership of a former Salvadoran Army special forces soldier, Mario Villatoro.Mario brought his military experiences from the civil war to train and discipline the gang. This ex-military influence lead some investigators from the Los Santos police and FBI to theorize that Salvadoran state actors were responsible for the gang's early growth, although these theories have never been proven. Around the same time period, the leaders of both Mara Salvatrucha and the 18th Street gang had a falling-out over unknown criminal matters. The resulting effect caused a bitter rivalry and street war between the two gangs that still exists today. Previously, Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street were friendly towards each other because they both allowed Central Americans to join and were largely non-discriminatory.Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, hostilities in the Northern Triangle countries in Central America came to a close.
The first community, or barrio, for Central Americans in Los Santos was formed in Little Seoul. At the time, Little Seoul was an impoverished neighbourhood of Westside Los Santos with a predominant Latino and Asian demographic. It had not yet undergone any gentrification and had a reputation for its high rates of violent gang activity. Although Little Seoul's first Salvadoran barrio was established in 1979, other similar barrios were formed elsewhere in West Los and Vinewood during the decade. The first community leaders for these barrios were refugees and economic migrants who left El Salvador during the civil war. Legal entities and other organizations were created in the communities, by Latino Americans, to help their immigrant counterparts with settling into the country. Because many of the Salvadorans in particular were refused asylum upon entering the United States, they were classified as illegal immigrants. Throughout the decade because of this, more Central Americans from the Northern Triangle nations came to the United States without any documentation.Ethnic conflicts in the streets between Central Americans and the already established Mexican Americans quickly became commonplace. This was due to the incompatible cultural differences between the Central Americans and the Chicano sub-culture. In particular, Salvadorans were widely discriminated against by Mexican Americans through being denied local jobs, experiencing physical removals from community association centers and getting harassed while peacefully living in their neighbourhoods.These cultural differences resulted in ethnic clashing between Central Americans and Mexican Americans over a period of several years, encompassing much of the 1980s and parts of the 1990s. Many of these clashes came in the form of street brawls and violent crimes involving edged weapons and firearms. Criminal elements within the Salvadoran community in particular, later identified as the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners by the Los Santos police, were found to be responsible for instigating much of these violent clashes.
Although the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners had originated as a criminal gang of juvenile delinquents with an interest in heavy rock music and consuming cannabis, it had morphed into a brutally vicious and violent gang by the end of the 1980s. This barbarity was borne out of their clashes with Chicanos in the streets, where they brought their experiences as insurgents in the Salvadoran Civil War with them. In the early 1990s, the Mara Salvatrucha in Los Santos fell under the leadership of a former Salvadoran Army special forces soldier, Mario Villatoro.Mario brought his military experiences from the civil war to train and discipline the gang. This ex-military influence lead some investigators from the Los Santos police and FBI to theorize that Salvadoran state actors were responsible for the gang's early growth, although these theories have never been proven. Around the same time period, the leaders of both Mara Salvatrucha and the 18th Street gang had a falling-out over unknown criminal matters. The resulting effect caused a bitter rivalry and street war between the two gangs that still exists today. Previously, Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street were friendly towards each other because they both allowed Central Americans to join and were largely non-discriminatory.Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, hostilities in the Northern Triangle countries in Central America came to a close.