The Pros And Cons Of MS-13

Gangs have been and continue to be a major problem across the United States. Growing up in the coal region of Pennsylvania, I have seen little to no gang activity in my lifetime. This being said, however, I noticed some gang related graffiti and possible gang members roaming the streets of my hometown of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. Shenandoah has always been a place immigrants called home. At first it was, people from European countries emigrated there from places like Ireland, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and many other places like the latter to mine for coal. As the coal industry started to decline, many of the people started to move away from Shenandoah, leaving empty and cheap apartments and houses available. This led to the immigration

MS-13 originated in the streets of El Salvador in Central America in the 1980’s. When immigrants from El Salvador immigrated to the United States (originally Los Angeles), the gang members followed. They are considered by many to be one of the most dangerous gangs in the United States. Currently, MS-13 and its affiliated groups can be found in 42 out of 50 states, wreaking havoc wherever they go (MS-13 Threat). They also can still be found in El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, and from other Central American countries (MS-13 Threat).MS-13 flies colors blue and white, which they have taken from the El Salvadorian flag (Most Violent and Dangerous Gang). These gang members have many tattoos, and from the pictures I have seen, they usually have the letters “M” and “S” somewhere on their body. According to insightcrime.org, “there are 70,000 MS-13 members in the northern triangle”. This is primarily due to the influx of Central American immigrants we see in cities like Washington

These include “robbery, murder, vandalism, home invasions, drug distribution, and carjacking’s” (MS-13 Threat). MS-13 has one main rival, the Barrio 18, and at least one very dangerous ally, the Mexican Cartel known as the Zetas (MS-13). In my opinion, I would say that MS-13 is finically driven. They try to recruit members by showing off the gang member lifestyle, so, to me, if they were all broke and looked like bums, the attraction would fall, and without members, the gang would die out. This is obviously not the case, as MS-13 can be found all over the United States. From the list of crimes I have just stated, one could assume that the MS-13 are violent, and that assumption is correct. Wherever the gang is found, the murder rates spike (MS-13). However, we see crimes like graffiti as well. This is actually the way MS-13 came into my radar, as I saw “MS-13” spray-painted onto an old