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Civil War In El Salvador Case Study

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This case study is a continuation of my last paper about the Civil War in El Salvador, in which I depicted overall political, social issues and influence of communism and the US support to the government forces, and is about one of the most violent gang called Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). During my study of MS-13, I tried to use not only material acquired in internet and books but also from my colleagues form Air Command and Staff College originated from ‘Northern triangle’, which is Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Hence, part of this paper is an interview with Maj. Roderico S. Guzman (R.S.G.) from Guatemalan Air Force. Between answers and questions asked by me (B.K.), there are inputs from other sources with data and other important information …show more content…

It consisted of immigrants from El Salvador who immigrated to the United States due to ongoing Civil War in El Salvador. Civil War started in 1980 and lasted until 1992 when both Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) commander Schafik Handal signed peace agreement with Salvadorean government. FMLN fought with its guerilla tactics against governmental ‘death squads’ twelve years. During this time about 75 000 people died. Both sides committed war crimes on huge scale. Enormous numbers of people were injured and displaced. Due to many violations of human rights, and tortures during the war, many people became psycho disabled. Moreover, war crimes caused pathology and changes in the Salvadorian society for generations. About 1 million of displaced people, immigrants, guerillas and others crossed the US border to find better life or to safe their life. They found it in Los Angeles and partly in …show more content…

At that time, the other gang named 18th Street ruled in Los Angeles twenty years earlier, and consisted mainly of Mexicans. Spanish language speaking gangs cooperated at the beginning, but the more Salvadorians came the worse were relationships between gangs. From Civil War reality young Salvadorians got to war of gangs. Furthermore, Salvadorian gangsters occurred to be incredibly aggressive. In other words, young Salvadorian depraved by war crimes and human violations were further more aggressive than their rivals from 18th Street were. Gang rules were not only striving for money but for opinion of being the most dangerous gang in the world. That is why MS13’s member raped, committed murders daylight with guns from short distances or simply used machete to slaughter their victims. Such explicit behavior set MS13 in the top of violence between gangs in US. Lack of the US sufficient programs to help immigrants caused gang related environment. Due to Mr. Buddy Howell – Senior Research Associate to National Gang Centre, most important risk factors that growths possibility of joining gang by youth are early delinquency, troubled home environment, unhealthy school environment and unsafe community environment. Moreover, if these factors occur together, young man or woman is forty times more endangered of becoming a gang member. That is why; massive immigrant

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After being called to come to the United States by his parents, he discusses his interactions with Border Patrol and beginning life in the United States. Some of the he fears he discussed, such as hiding his El Salvadorian nationality to avoid getting picked on, are the same fears my family members have had as being immigrants from Nigeria. However, just as my immigrant family members soon figured out, you cannot hide who you are, so the bullying continued. The feeling of loneliness and alienation that most young immigrants feel when coming to the United States may have been a key factor that encouraged Sanchez to join the MSS13 gang. However, Sanchez did not join MSS13 with the intentions of being a criminal, but with the hopes of feeling accepted and protected.

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The police were very often seen as violent, brutal, and corrupted. The author takes it a step further to not only say that this relationship is only caused because the men are gangsters, but that they are also Mexican. There are many occasions when Rodriguez relays an account where the police call the men very racist names and act upon their beliefs in a very brutal manner. He continues this theme of social inequality as he talks about his experiences in school and his parents ' experiences in their jobs. By depicting these situations Rodriguez makes the large assumption that the main reason that gangs are so prominent is because the Mexican culture was experiencing a lack of resources and support and therefore, their youth turned to something they felt could help.

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2457 Words | 10 Pages

Number of members including their age is discussed. This is also a key determinant in a gang structure. A comparison of both gang in regards to where each gang is situated has also been put into perspective. There are several factors that dictate the membership of every gang. These factors are very important to the policy

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625 Words | 3 Pages

MS-13 began recruiting and their numbers began increasing with young immigrants wanting to belong. Joining the gang provided these deprived, inner-city teenagers a form of identity, a powerful one with a dangerous gang. According to, Schram, & Tibbetts, (2014) based on the characteristics of social structure in the neighborhood three different types of gangs are formed; conflict gang, criminal gang and retreatist gangs. According to, Logan, &Sullivan, (2010), the youth immigrants were exposed to violence and it is the only thing they know, therefore making them vulnerable to joining MS-13 gangs. MS-13, a gang, which formerly formed for the sole purpose of self-protection, has now escalated into what social structure characteristic would describe as criminal and conflict gang.

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1644 Words | 7 Pages

The earlier members referred to themselves as MSS-13 Mara Salvatrucha Stoners, the 13 is used to show homage and alliance to the Mexican Mafia (La EMe), an equally notorious prison gang (Forrester, 2017). Much debate is tied to the actual meaning/translation of the gang’s name, but as the gang evolved it removed “Stoners” from the name. The early members of the gang were young El Salvadorian immigrant youths that banded together to protect themselves from other dominant Hispanic and African American gangs in 1980’s Los Angeles. Similarly, to other gangs of the era, the members of Mara Salvatrucha 13 were involved in petty gang violence and minor crimes that were used to fund their drug use and parties. The criminal acts resulted in members of Mara Salvatrucha 13 being sent to juvenile detention centers and/or prison where they interacted with other gang members.

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593 Words | 3 Pages

Gang activity is very common to hear about nowadays, whether it would to hear about it on the news, or even in the community you live in. Gangs are constantly recruiting young adults to join their group. One of the most dangerous gangs in the U.S is called the La Mara Salvatrucha. Translating it to English means, “ Street Tough Salvadoran Posse”. This gang is also known as “MS-13”.

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550 Words | 3 Pages

The report provides more detailed coverage of the current situation, including the names of the gangs involved and their recent activities. The report also relies heavily on firsthand accounts from journalists and residents who have witnessed the violence, which gives a vivid sense of the impact on people's lives. However, the report does not delve as deeply into the underlying causes of the violence and the historical context of the

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119 Words | 1 Pages

The civil war had continued for twelve years. According to Rafael Medina, In 1992, peace accords ended a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that resulted in at least 75,000 deaths and 7,000 disappearances. Over two decades later, Salvadorans still struggle with the war’s meaning and its place in the country’s history. The 1981 massacre at El Mozote has become a central part of that process.

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977 Words | 4 Pages

In the bloody aftermath, what good are these documents and what propose do they serve? For one, the documents can promote clairvoyance in the governments of today, in order to prevent the same atrocities. The Guatemalan governments human rights office, the Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos found around seventy– five million pages of Guatemala’s National Police documents from the time of the Dirty Wars. It is important to understand that the Guatemalan government in the past has not been as helpful as the United States government when it came to handing out federal documents. From the instant the Guatemalans and guerrilla forces signed their peace accord, the people of Guatemala have been in a constant struggled with their government to recover

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797 Words | 4 Pages

In 1980, El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America, suffered from of the bloodiest and long lasting wars for 12 years. There were problems that dealt with the economy and social statuses. During the 1970’s the tension increased causing an outbreak in war. The conflict in the war was fought between the Salvadoran government and the rebel army group FMLN (the guerillas). By preventing an uprising the “death squads”, form by the government, received military support from the U.S.

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1232 Words | 5 Pages

This is especially surprising considering the remarkable longevity and death toll associated with intrastate wars. The most populous Central American country, a post-colonial representative democracy named the Republic of Guatemala is a nation of sixteen and a half million people that had been wrought with socio-political and military conflicts stemming from the economic and ethnic backgrounds of its citizens. The resulting civil war was one of the most enduring and deadly military contests on the American continent. The fighting between the government and rebel groups lasted over thirty-six years. From 1960-1996, nearly one and a half million indigenous tribesmen and women were displaced, reported rapes exceeded one hundred thousand, and over two hundred thousand of the remaining indigenous population were murdered.

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993 Words | 4 Pages

(Gorriti, 1999) The government 's counterinsurgency strategy in the 1980s was reactionary rather than proactive. The initial counterinsurgency efforts to suppress the Shining Path from expanding beyond Ayacucho proved to be ineffective. As such this led to an intensified and destructive counterterrorist plan imposed by Belaunde and Garcia 's

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1438 Words | 6 Pages

In the 1990s, gang violence was on the rise, where it was dominantly founded in youths. Anderson, Dyson, and Lee (1996) argued that when a group of African American youths join together and commits delinquent acts and crime, they already categorized as gangs to the American public. This affect and many other affects is what creates an increase in gang violence. Those other factors are socioeconomic status, history, race, gendered, and geographic background. They play a huge role on the creation and formation of gangs.

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683 Words | 3 Pages

Street gangs try to steal childhoods from innocent children. It is a disappointing experience for parents and family members when their young child is now apart of the crucial society of gangs and gun violence. In El Salvador, there is an estimated 60,00 gang members out of 6,5 million people living there. An article called, ‘Tin-Cup Gangs of El Salvador,’ states that, “Their violence costs El Salvador $4 billion a year, according to a study by the country's Central Reserve Bank.” Children should be able to live their lives as young kids.

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905 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction Juvenile delinquency due to gang relation has increased drastically. Many people fail to realize that gangs have a considerable influence on the decisions juveniles are making. Adolescents are easily influenced by the members of the gangs and manipulated to commit certain crimes. As juveniles they are not mentally and emotionally mature to make such critical decisions, which in turn allow gang members to manipulate and control the youth they recruit. Juveniles become a part of gangs for several reasons, including, gaining protection, governmental, and social issues.

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