By Eric Hershberg, Edward Maguire, Steven Dudley

In October 2012, the U.S. government designated MS-13 as a transnational criminal organization (TCO), raising serious questions about the breadth of the gang’s criminal capacity. Some analysts have pointed to a steady growth and professionalization of this criminal organization, but insufficient data has hindered the formulation and implementation of policies aimed at countering this trend. Our multiyear project proposed to fill gaps in the extant literature by conducting qualitative and quantitative research designed to assess MS-13’s transnational criminal capacity. More specifically, our objectives were to: 1) conduct extensive interviews with local stakeholders, gang experts, and MS-13 members in three major metropolitan areas, including two in the U.S. and one in El Salvador; 2) analyze qualitative and quantitative data gathered through tested survey and interview instruments and from official sources, with particular attention to the following factors: type of criminal activities, organizational structure, inter- and intra-gang relationships, level of community penetration, accumulation of social capital, development and migration patterns, and recruitment strategies; 3) utilize social network analysis techniques to quantify the social reach of gang member respondents; and 4) disseminate project findings to relevant constituencies in law enforcement, policymaking circles, academe, and the general public. The purpose of our research was to provide policymakers and law enforcement officials with a comprehensive understanding of MS-13 by measuring the extent and range of the organization’s criminal activity and mapping its social networks. Our goal was to generate empirical data that could serve as a foundation upon which to shape new policies and practices. Specifically, our hope was that the data would provide insights regarding the optimal allocation of law enforcement resources, the likely movements of MS-13, and the design of intervention and suppression strategies. 

Washington DC: U..S. Department of Justice,  2019. 11p.

By Albert De Amicis

This paper follows the beginnings of one of the most notorious transnational street gangs in existence today. We will trace the growth of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) from their emigration from El Salvador to Los Angeles, California. El Salvador had just suffered a civil war that had claimed an estimated 100,000 people. This gang’s transformation from a local sureno street gang (southern street gang) to a transnational gang happened when the United States got tough on immigration laws and deported many of these MS-13’s back to El Salvador. At this juncture, they used their knowledge from what they had learned back in the U.S. and created the MS-13 in Central America and Mexico. This paper will prove from the research just how the MS-13 and Los Zetas, a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO), have collaborated in a criminal enterprise in those countries and now domestically back in the United States.

Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 2018. 38p.