MS-13

I ran into MS-13 a few times while conducting surveillance in Los Angeles. You can spot them the second you see them since their primary colors are purple and black, and they have tattoos all over their body, head, and face. Most of them will even tattoo MS-13 on their body, and graffiti of MS-13 was scattered all over their territory. I arrived even earlier on my surveillances, where I knew the areas of MS-13 were since they usually never came out until the afternoon. I wasn't terrified of them since I was already in a stationary position when they started coming out of their homes.

One of the most commonly displayed is the "devil's head," which forms an 'M' when displayed upside down. This hand sign is similar to the same symbol commonly seen by heavy metal musicians and their fans. Founders of Mara Salvatrucha borrowed the hand sign after attending concerts of heavy metal bands.

There are so many gangs in Los Angeles County that I had to keep up with them, so I knew what areas to be even more cautious about. Below is a list of current gangs in Los Angeles County: 

Westside

W/S Venice Shoreline Crips

W/S Graveyard Gangster Crips

W/S Blastin' Fools Gangster Crips

W/S Playboy Gangster Crips

W/S By Yourself Gangster Crips

W/S Mansfield Gangster Crips

W/S Marvin Gangster Crips

W/S School Yard Crips

W/S Geer Gang Crips

W/S West Boulevard Crips

W/S Village Stone Bloods

W/S Black P. Stone City

W/S Rollin' 20's Neighborhood Bloods

W/S Fruit Town Brims

W/S Rollin' 30's Original Harlem Crips

W/S Black P. Stone Jungles

W/S Rollin' 40's Neighborhood Crips

W/S 46 Neighborhood Crips

W/S 51 Trouble Gangster Crips

W/S 52 Hoover Gangster Crips

W/S 52 Broadway Gangster Crips

W/S Van Ness Gangster Brims

W/S 55 Neighborhood Crips

W/S 57 Neighborhood Crips

W/S 58 Neighborhood Crips

W/S 59 Hoover Criminal Gang

W/S Rollin' 60's Neighborhood Crips

W/S Harvard Park Brims

W/S Menlo Neighborhood Crips

W/S 67 Neighborhood Crips

W/S Playboy Hustler Crips

W/S 71 Gangster Crips

W/S 74 Hoover Criminal Gang

W/S 78 Hard Time Hustler Crips

W/S 83 Hoover Criminal Gang

W/S 83 Gangster Crips

W/S Rollin' 90's Neighborhood Crips

W/S 92 Hoover Criminal Gang

W/S 94 Hoover Criminal Gang

W/S 99 Mafia Crips

W/S Budlong Gangster Crips

W/S 103 Hard Time Hustler Crips

W/S 104 Hard Time Hustler Crips

W/S Underground Blocc Crips

W/S 107 Hoover Criminal Gang

W/S 107 Original Blocc Crips

W/S 111 Neighborhood Crips

W/S 112 Neighborhood Crips

W/S Pimp Town Gangster Crips

W/S Denver Lane Gangster Bloods

W/S 112 Broadway Gangster Crips

W/S Twilight Zone Crips

W/S 113 Original Blocc Crips

W/S 115 Neighborhood Crips

W/S Watergate Crips

W/S 120 Raymond Avenue Crips

W/S Harvard Gangster Crips

W/S Shotgun Crips

W/S Paybacc Crips

Inglewood

N/S Neighborhood Pirus

W/S Centinela Park Family Gangster Bloods

W/S Queen Street Bloods

W/S Inglewood Family Gangster Bloods

W/S Arbor Village Bloods

W/S Osage Legend Crips

W/S 102 Raymond Avenue Crips

W/S Tongan Crip Gang

W/S Crenshaw Mafia Gangster Bloods

W/S Avenue Piru Gang

W/S Mad Ass Gangster Crips

W/S Center Park Bloods

W/S Weirdo Gangster Bloods

W/S Imperial Village Crips

Hawthorne

W/S 118 Gangster Crips

W/S Acacia Blocc Hustler Crips

W/S 118 Eucalyptus Mob Gangster Crips

W/S Hawthorne Piru Gang

W/S Hawthorne Thug Family Gangster Crips

Eastside

E/S Rollin' 20's Outlaw Bloods

E/S Mac & Thug Hustler Crips

E/S Rollin' 30's Bloodstone Pirus

E/S 40's Avalon Gangster Crips

E/S 42 Gangster Crips

E/S 43 Gangster Crips

E/S All For Crime Bloods

E/S Rollin' 40's Bloodstone Pirus

E/S 48 Gangster Crips

E/S Bloodstone Villians

E/S 52 Pueblo Bishop Bloods

E/S 53 Avalon Gangster Crips

E/S 59 East Coast Neighborhood Crips

E/S 62 East Coast Neighborhood Crips

E/S 66 East Coast Neighborhood Crips

E/S 68 East Coast Neighborhood Crips

E/S 69 East Coast Neighborhood Crips

E/S 73 Gangster Crips

E/S 73 Hustler Crips

E/S 76 East Coast Neighborhood Crips

E/S Mad Swan Bloods

E/S 84 Main Street Mafia Crips

E/S 87 Gangster Crips

E/S 88 Hard Time Hustler Crips

E/S 88 Avalon Garden Crips

E/S Family Swan Bloods

E/S 87 Kitchen Crips

E/S 89 East Coast Neighborhood Crips

E/S 92 Bishop Bloods

E/S 97 Gangster Crips

E/S 97 East Coast Blocc Crips

E/S 98 Main Street Mafia Crips

E/S Q102 East Coast Neighborhood Crips

E/S 104 Hustler Crips

E/S 112 Neighborhood Crips

E/S 116 Kitchen Crips

E/S 118 East Coast Blocc Crips

E/S Miller Gangster Bloods

E/S Village Town Pirus

E/S Athens Park Bloods

E/S 135 Pirus

Watts

E/S Be-Bop Watts Bloods

E/S Hat Gang Watts Crips

E/S 96 Dollars Earned Always Gangster Crips

E/S 99 Watts Mafia Crips

E/S Compton Avenue Watts Crips

E/S Beach Town Mafia Crips

E/S Watts Franklin Square Crips

E/S Grape Street Watts Crips

E/S Front Street Watts Crips

E/S Bacc Street Watts Crips

E/S Circle City Pirus

E/S Hacienda Village Bloods

E/S Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods

E/S Bad Ass Gangster Crips

E/S Fudge Town Mafia Crips

E/S Ten Line Gangster Crips

E/S Neighborhood Watts Crips

E/S Nut Hood Watts Crips

E/S Project Watts Crips

E/S 117th Street Watts Crips

E/S Holmes Street Watts Crips

Compton (Westside)

E/S Carver Park Compton Crips

N/S Anzac Grape Compton Crips

W/S Front Hood Compton Crips

West Side Pirus

W/S Campanella Park Pirus

N/S Neighborhood Pirus

W/S 151 Original Block Pirus

W/S Park Village Compton Crips

W/S Palmer Blocc Compton Crips

W/S Cedar Block Pirus

W/S Tree Top Pirus

W/S Twilight Zone Compton Crips

W/S Original Swamp Compton Crips

W/S Tragniew Park Compton Crips

W/S Lantana Blocc Compton Crips

W/S Raymond Street Hustler Compton Crips

W/S Nutty Blocc Compton Crips

W/S Farm Dog Compton Crips

W/S Acacia Blocc Compton Crips

Compton (Eastside)

E/S Mona Park Compton Crips

E/S Six Hood Compton Crips

E/S Poccet Hood Compton Crips

E/S Fruit Town Pirus

E/S Spook Town Compton Crips

E/S Santana Blocc Compton Crips

E/S MOB Pirus

E/S Cross Atlantic Pirus

E/S Elm Street Pirus

E/S Lueders Park Pirus

E/S Lime Hood Pirus

E/S Duccy Hood Compton Crips

E/S Holly Hood Pirus

E/S Ward Lane Compton Crips

South Side Compton Crips

E/S Neighborhood Compton Crips

E/S Kelly Park Compton Crips

S/S Atlantic Drive Compton Crips

Lynwood

E/S Palm & Oak Gangster Crips

E/S 211 Criminal Gang

E/S Lynwood Neighborhood Crips

E/S Pope Street Crips

Carson

E/S Centerview Pirus

W/S Stevenson Village Carson Crips

W/S Victoria Park Carson Crips

E/S 190 East Coast Blocc Crips

E/S Cabbage Patch Pirus

E/S Kalas Park Loks

W/S Grace Avenue Pirus

West Side Pirus

W/S Samoan Warrior Bounty Hunter Bloods

E/S Scott Park Pirus

E/S Scottsdale Pirus

W/S Harbor City Crips

E/S Ghost Town Bloods

Long Beach

N/S Boulevard Mafia Crips

N/S Krazy Ass Samoan Family Gangster Crips

N/S Original Hood Crips

N/S 4 Corner Blocc Gangster Crips

N/S Naughty & Nasty Gangster Crips

N/S Mac Mafia Crips

N/S Sex Money Murder Hustler Crips

N/S Asian Boyz Crips

N/S Bricc Boy Crips

N/S 49th Street Hustler Crips

W/S Sons of Samoa Gangster Crips

W/S Rollin' 80's West Coast Crips

E/S Insane Crip Gang

E/S Rollin' 20's Long Beach Crips

E/S Asian Boyz Crips

E/S Sons of Samoa Gangster Crips

E/S Blacc Bandit Crips

There are gangs all over the United States; however, MS-13 is one of the worst. They began in Los Angeles in the 1980s, when El Salvadorians flooded into the United States. Its offshoot in Central America took hold when many of its members were deported.

The gang counts about 30,000 members worldwide and more than 10,000 in the United States -- a number that has held steady for some years but one that officials believe is trending upward, the Justice Department said.MS-13 is active in 40 US states, plus the District of Columbia.

The gang is known for forcing new members to endure a 13-second beating known as "jumping in," authorities say. Members beat the new member with fists and bats in videotaped beatings often lasting far longer than the touted 13 seconds. Women who join the gang either jump in or are "sexed in," having sexual relations with MS-13 members.

On May 17th, a dozen ATF agents have poured out of an armored vehicle, preparing to break open the front and back doors of an inconspicuous store just outside downtown Los Angeles.

They suspect that the storefront is a hub for the notorious MS-13 street gang. Rifle-wielding officers suited in body armor and helmets appear ready for combat. They go in, but there is no violence. With the element of surprise on their side, agents peacefully take a half dozen people into custody.

One by one, they came out in handcuffs. Some are suspected gang members; some may be victims of human trafficking, authorities say.

A storefront might seem like an odd place to find them. But MS-13 members have been known to live in storefronts and have been suspected of using them to cover drug activity, prostitution, and human trafficking.

Thirteen individuals alleged to be members and associates of MS-13 were arrested in Central Ohio and Indiana on Tuesday, August 15th, following an FBI-led multi-agency investigation that included U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and Columbus Police Department.

MS-13, formally La Mara Salvatrucha, is a multi-national criminal organization composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The organization’s leadership is based in El Salvador, where many of the gang’s high-ranking members are imprisoned. 

In 2012, the United States government designated MS-13 as a “transnational criminal organization.” It is the first and the only street gang to receive that designation. MS-13 has become one of the largest and most violent criminal organizations in the United States, with more than 10,000 members and associates operating in at least 40 states.

Immigration and Customs began Operation Community Shield who works with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the United States and abroad, to develop a comprehensive and integrated approach to conducting criminal investigations and other law enforcement operations against gangs.

Identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities, and international movements.

Deters disrupts and dismantles gang operations by tracing and seizing cash, weapons, and other assets derived from criminal activities.

Seeks prosecution and/or removal of alien gang members from the United States.

Works closely with our attaché offices worldwide and foreign law enforcement counterparts in gathering intelligence, sharing information, and conducting coordinated enforcement operations.

HSI special agents routinely investigate these crimes side-by-side with law enforcement partners in pursuit of racketeering influenced and corrupt organization (RICO), violent crime in aid of racketeering (VICAR), and Hobbs Act prosecutions to most effectively disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises.

Since the launch of Operation Community Shield, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and its partners have arrested more than 32,200 gang members and associates, representing more than 2,400 different gangs and cliques.

These apprehensions include 20,838 criminal arrests and 13,370 administrative immigration arrests. Of these, 451 arrests were of gang leaders, and 14,994 of the arrested suspects had violent criminal histories. Through this initiative, HSI has also seized more than 5,800 firearms.

You can keep tabs on the Gangs through the Gang Activity Map.