FBI, Four Other Nations Battle MS-13 Gang

The FBI, along with law enforcement officers from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, have joined together in a fight against the growing violence from gang activity, particularly the international gang know as MS-13.

In a recent press release, the FBI describes recent actions take against MS-13, which have resulted in a series of arrests, searches, detentions and other law enforcement actions. The actions were part of a series of efforts undertaken in cooperation with state, local, federal and foreign agencies and coordinated by the FBI's MS-13 National Gang Task Force (MS-13 NGTF). The MS-13 task force operation included the participation of more than 6,400 police officers, federal agents, or other officials, operating in 13 states and five countries.

The Department of Homeland Security has declared MS-13 to be one of the largest and most violent street gangs in the country. The estimated membership of MS-13 is over 10,000 in the United States with the largest concentration in Los Angeles, Northern Virginia, Maryland, and New York. MS-13 membership in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador is estimated by those governments to be as many as 50,000. [FBI press release]

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