La Mara Salvatrucha

La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) is a transnational criminal organization primarily operating out of El Salvador, with a significant presence in Honduras, Guatemala, and the United States. In El Salvador, MS-13 has evolved from its origins as a street gang into a criminal-economic-military-political power. MS-13 has engaged in widespread, targeted killings of law enforcement and other state officials; the indiscriminate killings of civilians; have used violence to shut down or seize control of vital public services; have established military-style training camps for its members; and have obtained military weapons in order to instill terror and enforce their will on the state and populace. In 2019 in El Salvador, MS-13 put a fake body in an abandoned car to lure police officers into a car-bomb attack, wounding two officers. In March 2022, El Salvador declared a state of emergency after MS-13 and other entities went on a killing spree resulting in a total of 87 homicides in 72 hours.