El Salvador has a huge problem with gang violence. You see, after the war a lot of Salvadorans started emigrating to other countries for work. Guatemalans often jest that there are Salvadoran prostitutes all over the world (Guatemala and El Salvador don't get along very well) although of course Salvadoran migrant workers do a lot more than that. They're remesas (money sent home from abroad) are also responsible for a booming economy. Unfortunately, they also sent home Los Angeles crime. The already established Mexican gangs kept harassing the Salvadoran migrant workers, that is until they formed the MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha.
Now possibly the most brutal gang in the United States, Mara is allegedly composed of 10,000 members, primarily from the CA-4 region. The Salvadoran government campaigns against them---in fact the current president was elected on the campain slogan "Super Mano Dura", or super hard hand, a follow up to the failed "Mano Dura" campaign. However the legal system is still very third world here and convictions are rare. This frustrates the public and now police arrest people just for having tattoos and baggy pants. They don't stay locked up for long though, and the cycle leads to more people interested in joining the MS.
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