Mara 18

Infobox Criminal Organization
name = 18th street/Barrio 18


caption =Taggings of 18th street gang.
founded =1959
years active =1960 - present
territory = mostly in Los Angeles,the Western and Southern areas of the United States and some in the eastern (barrio 18),and Central America
ethnic makeup =Hispanic
membership est = 100,000+
criminal activities =Drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, gun traficking, murder, contract killing, etc.

Mara 18, M-18,Barrio 18,pandia 18 or Diesiocho (in the U.S. they are known as the 18th Street gang) is a grouping of young gang members, the majority of whom are from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Background

Like their rivals Mara Salvatrucha, they also started in Los Angeles, California. Fleeing from the conditions created by the bloody civil war in El Salvador during the 1980s, people migrated north. The new Salvadoran immigrants who arrived in California felt isolated and were targeted by gangs. Some Salvadoran immigrants joined the Mexican 18th street gang, as it was already established. Salvadorans who committed crimes were deported to their home country, which then gave birth to M-18 a subset of the 18th Street gang from Los Angeles.

Geography

Over the years, M-18 has extended to many cities within El Salvador and has been incorporated in other countries within Central America, primarily Honduras and Guatemala.

M-18 developed the same criminal actions as MS-13. This violence incited the responsiveness of the authorities and immigration in the U.S, which chose to jail their members and deport them to their countries of origin.

A CNN internet news article stated the gang was moving away from tattoos because it would allow them to commit crimes without being noticed. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/12/16/gang.makeovers.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview] ]

Etymology

The word "mara" in Central America is equivalent to the Spanish term "colla" or "gang/group".

External links

*Gang's New Tactics [http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/12/16/gang.makeovers.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8964074/ Ms-13 and M-18 Prison Gang War]
* [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20040923-1546-mexico-shootout.html M-18 Gang Shootout]
* [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,148543,00.html El Salvador's Most Violent Gangs]