GANGS IN EL SALVADOR

: MS 13
Why Gang Formed In El Salvador
The tragic civil war in El Salvador left many
Salvadorans to flee to escape the violence.
The civil war took place from 1997 to 1992
leaving 75 thousand dead and 500 thousand
refugees settling in other countries. Many
ended up in America but more specifically El Salvador
Los Angeles, California. In the late 1980s, a
group of bullied Salvadoran outcasts created
a gang of their own; they called themselves
MS-13. The gang forming was a combination
of the tragic environment and what the LA
culture influenced. Mesmerized by other
existing gangs and rockstars, violence
became a leading factor involved with the : MARA
gang. In 1996, the U.S Deported thousands
of immigrants causing refugees to bring the : SALVATRUCHA
gang culture with them back to take : 13TH LETTER IS M
residency in a country they once called 13
home. Taking advantage of El Salvador with : DEVIL'S HORNS +
a lack of resources and police after the civil UPSIDE DOWN "M"
war, gang culture took over.

70% 60% 1%
of youth who try to leave a
gang fail with out another
support system in place
of homicide rates at
related to gang
of the Salvadoran
population are gang
activity members

EFFORTS TO REDUCE GANG CULTURE

El Salvador has made a few efforts in the past to minimize gang violence but has yet to succeed when
it comes to eliminating gang culture as a whole. In 2003, the government enforced a government
intervention policy that would allow for the extrajudicial killings and mass incarceration of suspected
gang members by law enforcement. This intervention was called “La Mano dura”, also known as “Iron
Fist”. The policy was a temporary solution by decreasing crime rates by 14% in 2004, however, crime
rates did spike up in the years following. Although the lack of government involvement, in 2012, two of
the largest gangs in El Salvador negotiated a truce that resulted in a 53% decrease in homicide rates.
However, this truce did not persist and the homicide rate once again began to rise. It has also been
reported that the Salvadoran Government has attempted to negotiate a truce but has yet to have any
luck in doing so. In addition, El Salvador has projects/organizations to help keep youth out of gangs
and to give them an alternative to turn to. Some of these projects include USAID projects such as
Education for Children and Youth at Risk project or Creative, a non-profit organization.

WHY MUST EL SALVADOR DO BETTER IN

SUPPORTING ITS PEOPLE
Gangs in El Salvador are different compared to gangs in the U.S with their heavy capacity of control.
Through several criminal activities including murder, rape, and extortion, gangs in El Salvador are even
known to have more power than the government. With temporary solutions put in place, these
government tactics have only motivated gangs to become much more organized. The Salvadoran
government must make change where change is needed, and that begins with El Salvador’s youth. In El
Salvador, 60% of schools are affected by gang threats leading thousands of students to drop out of school.
With approximately 39,000 students dropping out of school in 2015 alone, that leaves thousands of children
exposed to a life filled with poverty, violence and gang activity. Gangs are quick to recruit unemployed or
out of school youth; 1 in every 4 young men ranging from ages 15 to 29 who aren't employed or in school are
recruited to a gang. These numbers only support the importance of providing resources for prevention and
intervention in order to get children out gangs and keep them out. By providing resources, communities in
El Salvador are able to strengthen families and schools, improve community supervision, train teachers, and
parents to manage disruptive youth, and teach students interpersonal skills. With all efforts coming
together El Salvador with be one step closer to protecting its youth and becoming the strong country it has
so much potential to become.