Mara (gang)
A mara (or marabunta) is a form of gang originating in the United States and which spread to Central American countries such as El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.[1]
Activities
Maras activities range from arms trafficking, assault, auto theft, burglaries, drug trafficking, extortion, human trafficking, identity fraud, identity theft, illegal gambling, illegal immigration, kidnapping, money laundering, people smuggling, prostitution, racketeering, robbery and vandalism. Almost all maras display tattoos on their bodies as a sign of their affiliation to their gang.[2] "La vida por las maras" or "the life for the gang" is a very commonly used phrase by these gangs.
Rivalries
The most well known maras are Mara Salvatrucha and their rivals Calle 18; maras were hunted by death squads including Sombra Negra.[3]
See also
- Mara 18
- Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13 from Los Angeles)
- Vatos Locos
References
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- ↑ Mar 1999 USCIS publication QA/SLV/99.001, esp pg. 6 citation #14.
External links
- Foreignaffairs.org - How street gangs took Central America
- BBC news - Combating El Salvador's gangs
- Peetz, Peter (2008): Youth, Crime, and the Responses of the State: Discourses on Violence in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, GIGA Working Papers, No. 80
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- Crime in El Salvador
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- Gangs in North America
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