According to an officer attached to the Gang Information Unit at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the Mara Salvatrucha gang, whose members are commonly referred to as "MS" by the city's various anti-gang police forces, has been operating in Los Angeles for some fifteen years (4 Apr. 1995). It is a "traditional" gang, that is, it is well known to police for its involvement in various crimes and offences, including drug trafficking, auto theft, assassination of rival gang members, murder, rape, etc. (ibid).

According to the police officer, the Mara Salvatrucha gang first emerged in the mainly Hispanic communities in Los Angeles, such as the West Side and South East districts. It reportedly has almost a thousand members who are now scattered throughout Los Angeles. Each member is tattooed with the initials "MS" on some body part (arm, forehead, stomach, back, etc.). The initiation ritual within the Mara Salvatruchas involves receiving a beating from the other members of the group, thereby demonstrating courage and ruggedness for potential confrontations with rival gang members (ibid).

According to an officer with the Violent Gang Task Force attached to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service – INS in Los Angeles, the Mara Salvatrucha gang is one of the largest and most violent in southern California (The Guardian, 17 June 1994).The daily newspaper The Guardian reports that some seventy Salvadoran gang members were deported from the United States in 1993 and hundreds of others also left the U.S. under deportation programs or by choice. The newspaper did not specify, however, whether the deported individuals were Mara Salvatrucha gang members or whether they were deported to El Salvador (ibid).

According to an investigative specialist on street gangs with the Gang Awareness Intervention Network who is also an instructor at the California Youth Authority in San Bernardino south of Los Angeles, the name "Mara Salvatrucha" is derived from the name "Los Maravillosos" (i.e. the wonderful ones), a former Latin American street gang active in Los Angeles, while "salva" is a contraction of "Salvador" or "Salvadoran" and "trucha," in Salvadoran slang, means someone or something intimidating, to beware of (6 Apr. 1995).

According to the specialist, the average age of Mara Salvatrucha gang members is between 20 and 30, but there are also a considerable number of young members between 8 and 14 years old (ibid). According to the data available, the investigative specialist assesses the current number of gang members at about 2,500 (ibid).

There is no official recruitment method, as such, within the group. Young people who want to join the gang are looking for an escape from problems related to unemployment, alcoholism and violence which are often characteristic of their family situation. They find, in the gang, the support and help of young people who come from the same country and whose families are experiencing similar problems (ibid). Others join the gang after illegally entering the United States as "couriers" or "mules" for drug traffickers who do business with the Mara Salvatruchas. Those who refuse to join the group receive death threats (ibid).

According to the investigative specialist, the Salvadorans deported from the United States who belong to the Mara Salvatruchas have established a branch of the group in El Salvador and perpetuate the violent confrontations with the repatriated members of rival groups (Los Angeles 18th and 38th Street gangs). Furthermore, they commit the same crimes they were involved in when they lived in Los Angeles (see appended document faxed by the specialist to the DIRB).

According to a sergeant of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department attached to the Operation Safe Street anti-gang unit, there are currently between 2,000 and 4,000 Mara Salvatrucha gang members, known as "Truchies" (6 Apr. 1995).

Many Mara Salvatrucha gang members are former Salvadoran soldiers or guerilla fighters who fled El Salvador during the civil war and entered the United States illegally. The gang is noted for the mobility of its members and the extreme violence used in their criminal activities. Their crimes range from trafficking of hard drugs, such as crack and heroin, to armed robbery and motor vehicle theft, including extortion of small business owners located on gang turf on whom the group imposes a "protection tax" (ibid).

According to the sergeant, the structure of the Mara Salvatrucha gang is different from that of gangs in other large American cities such as New York or Chicago, which are based on a specific chain of command in which the title (chief, lieutenant, killer, etc.) represents the function and power held by the individual within the gang. Individuals who have contact with drug suppliers or who are charismatic are the true leaders of the Mara Salvatruchas, according to the sergeant.

Similar to various other Los Angeles street gangs, the Mara Salvatruchas are perpetually fighting turf wars with rival gangs. According to the sergeant, their turf extends from north of Highway 10 to Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles.

For further information on the Mara Salvatruchas, please consult the attached documents.

This response was prepared by the DIRB on the basis of publicly available information to which the DIRB was able to have access within the prescribed timeframe. This response does not purport to be an exhaustive study of the country under review or to be conclusive as to the merits of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. You will find attached the list of sources consulted during the research carried out for this information request.

L.A. County Sheriff's Department, Operation Safe Street anti-gang unit, Los Angeles, California, 6 April 1995. Telephone conversation with a sergeant.

California Youth Authority, Gang Awareness Intervention Network, San Bernardino, California, 6 April 1995. Telephone conversation with an investigative specialist.

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Gang Information Unit, Los Angeles, California, 6 April 1995. Telephone conversation with a police officer.

Gang Awareness Intervention Network, San Bernardino, California, 6 April 1995. Letter sent to DIRB.

The Guardian, 17 June 1994, Tracy Wilkinson. "Gang Violence Becomes Latest American Export." (NEXIS)

Gang Awareness Intervention Network, San Bernardino, California, 6 April 1995. Letter sent to DIRB.

The Guardian, 17 June 1994, Tracy Wilkinson. "Gang Violence Becomes Latest American Export". (NEXIS)

The Los Angeles Times, 25 December 1994, Yvette Cabrera. "The Fall of Lafayette Park". (NEXIS)

______, 23 December 1994, Geoffrey Mohan. "East Valley Focus: Van Nuys; Gang Suspect Held in Youth's Slaying". (NEXIS)

______, 16 June 1994, Tracy Wilkinson. "Gangs Find Fresh Turf in Salvador". (NEXIS)

______, 26 September 1993, Robert J. Lopez and Jesse Katz. "Mexican Mafia Tells Gangs to Halt Drive-Bys". (NEXIS)

______, 12 July 1992, Jesse Katz. "Latino Gang Carnage is Part of an Invisible War; Violence: Killings in the Barrios are Largely Ignored, Although They Claim Twice as Many Lives as in Black Areas". (NEXIS)

The Ottawa Citizen, 24 November 1994, evening edition, Carlos Castilho. "Salvadorans Fear Expatriates' Return". (NEXIS)