LTTE: MS-13 began not in Salvador, but in US
MS-13 began not in Salvador, but in US
February 05, 2016
I DISAGREE with columnist Kevin Cullen when he writes that MS-13 “has its roots in El Salvador” (“With MS-13, history is reporting itself,” Metro, Jan. 30). MS-13’s roots are not in El Salvador, but rather in US foreign and domestic policy.
MS-13 originated in California, where a small group of Salvadorans got together to protect themselves from the larger Latino gangs in their neighborhood. In the 1990s, the State of California dealt with overcrowding in its prisons by deporting inmates to their home countries. Many incarcerated MS-13 members ended up back in El Salvador.
Similar to what happened in the ghettos of California, the gang was quickly able to grow by recruiting young Salvadorans who were economically and socially marginalized due to US policies such as the Central America Free Trade Agreement.
Cullen points out that MS-13 is now strong in the same communities where the Mafia was powerful decades ago. This comparison proves what we already know about gangs and organized crime — they flourish in impoverished and marginalized communities. Until we address issues of poverty and admit to ourselves that broader national and international policies fuel the growth of gangs like MS-13, we will forever be dealing with this issue.
Leigh Hardy
Cambridge
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2016/02/05/began-not-salvador-but/wVwkqiqRkRJv5qGPtBZVqK/story.html
