Known Aliases: MS-13, MS, Mara, La Mara Salvatrucha, MSX3 (coded), Salvatruchos, Guanacos Locos Salvatruchos (historical faction), Stoners (1980s precursor identity)
Origin: Pico-Union / Westlake district, Los Angeles, California — circa 1980–1983. Established by Salvadoran refugees and immigrants fleeing the Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992). Originally formed as a stoner/heavy metal street clique (adopting the 'Mara Salvatrucha Stoners'); later pivoted to criminal gang operations and ultimately aligned with the Sureños under Mexican Mafia (La Eme) sponsorship within the California prison system. The '13' was appended to signify Sureño/La Eme allegiance.
Active Regions: Primary AOR: Los Angeles (Pico-Union, Westlake, Hollywood, North Hollywood, Panorama City, San Fernando Valley), Long Island (NY — Brentwood, Central Islip, Hempstead), Northern Virginia (Fairfax County, Prince William County), Washington D.C. metro, Maryland (Prince George's County), Houston (TX). Secondary AOR: Nationwide — documented in 46 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. International: El Salvador (nationwide — estimated 40,000+ members), Honduras (Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula), Guatemala (Guatemala City, Quetzaltenango), Mexico (Chiapas, Tamaulipas, Mexico State), Spain, Italy, Canada. Estimated global membership: 50,000–70,000. Designated as a Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO) by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (2012).
Known Alliances: Mexican Mafia (La Eme), various Mexican cartels
Known Rivalries: 18th Street Gang (Barrio 18) — primary rival, representing the defining bilateral conflict of Central American gang warfare with thousands of fatalities documented across multiple hemispheres. Norteños — opposition based on Sureño alignment. Rival Sureño cliques — localized territorial disputes. Bloods — adversarial encounters in East Coast jurisdictions. Dominican gangs (Trinitarios, DDP) — competition in Northeastern U.S. markets. Central American state security forces — quasi-insurgency dynamics, particularly in El Salvador under Bukele administration's 'estado de excepción' (2022–present).
Primary Identifiers: Colors: Blue and white (Salvadoran flag colors), blue (Sureño alignment), black. Symbols: 'MS-13,' 'MS,' '13,' devil horns (el diablo) hand sign, Salvatrucha devil imagery, machete motifs, skull imagery, 'La Bestia,' clique-specific symbols. Numeric codes: 13 (M = Mexican Mafia), 1-3, 67 (6+7=13), 12-19 (L-S = La Salvatrucha). Tattoos: 'MS-13' across face, forehead, chest, or full-body coverage (including facial tattoos), 'Salvatrucha' in large script, devil horns, clique identifiers (e.g., 'Hollywood Locos,' 'Sailors,' 'Fulton'), machete imagery, Salvadoran national symbols, skeleton/death imagery, three dots (mi vida loca). Apparel: LA Dodgers (blue), any blue sports apparel, Dickies work wear, Nike Cortez sneakers. Hand signs: Devil horns (index and pinky fingers extended — mano cornuda), 'M' and 'S' finger formations. Graffiti: 'MS-13,' '13,' 'MSX3,' devil horns drawings, machetes, clique names, crossed-out '18' (disrespecting Barrio 18), 'Sureño' markers.
Executive Summary:
Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) is assessed by the FBI, DEA, and DHS as one of the most dangerous and operationally expansive transnational criminal organizations of street-gang origin in the Western Hemisphere. Established in the early 1980s in Los Angeles's Pico-Union district by first-generation Salvadoran refugees displaced by civil war, the organization has metastasized into a global criminal enterprise with an estimated 50,000–70,000 members operating across the United States, Central America, Mexico, and Europe. The '13' designation signifies allegiance to the Mexican Mafia (La Eme) within the Sureño prison alliance framework, though MS-13's Central American branches exercise substantial operational independence from traditional La Eme authority. The organization's modus operandi is characterized by extreme, demonstrative violence — including machete attacks, dismemberment, and ritualistic killings — employed as instruments of territorial enforcement and psychological deterrence.
Primary illicit revenue streams include narcotics trafficking (marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl), extortion (renta systems targeting businesses and public transportation in Central America), human smuggling/trafficking, prostitution/sex trafficking, murder-for-hire, kidnapping for ransom, identity document fraud, and money laundering. The MS-13 command structure operates through a clique-based (clicas) paradigm, with individual cliques maintaining geographic territorial claims while receiving strategic direction from 'ranfleros' (program leaders) and senior leadership both domestically and in El Salvador via the 'Rueda' (national leadership council). Landmark federal prosecutions include United States v. Chavez (EDVA, 2017, 13 MS-13 members convicted of RICO conspiracy including seven murders) and Operation Matador (2017, Long Island, 40+ arrests). The U.S. Department of Treasury designated MS-13 under Executive Order 13581 in October 2012, and the Salvadoran government's state-of-exception enforcement campaign (2022–present) has resulted in over 75,000 incarcerations across Central America, significantly disrupting in-country operations while potentially displacing operational nodes northward.