El Salvador Comes to Grips With Gangs

LA Times ^ | December 12, 2004 | By Chris Kraul, Times Staff Writer

[LNewman]

Deportees from U.S. feed the violence of groups targeted in disputed crackdown.

ILOPANGO, El Salvador — Minutes after hooded commandos stormed his tiny shack in the middle of the night and hustled him off to jail, Juan Carlos Diaz was smiling.

Had he shot a bus fare collector in cold blood before 25 horrified commuters, as the police said? The 18-year-old high school dropout grinned before answering: "Not even close."

But he acknowledged joining the M-18 gang four months earlier and proudly looked down at the 10-inch-high "18" tattooed on his chest and abdomen. "For me," he said, "that number is everything."

That appeal has attracted an estimated 30,000 Salvadorans to M-18 and its rival, Mara Salvatrucha, twin armies whose reign of terror has left this country — urban and rural areas alike — paralyzed with fear. The gangs claim an average five homicide victims a day.

SNIP

Government officials, including Deputy Citizens' Security Minister Rodrigo Avila, blame the violence at least in part on the deportation of nearly 12,000 Salvadorans with criminal records from the United States since 1998. Many are prison-hardened former gang members in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities who were sent back here as illegal immigrants.

"The deportations are at the core of the problem," Avila said. "Gangs here now copy the whole L.A. gang culture, the way they talk, the clothes they wear and the absolute ruthlessness."

[LNewman]

Unreal.

[AuntB]

"Many are prison-hardened former gang members in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities who were sent back here as illegal immigrants."

Can you imagine the number of them left here, that didn't get deported? Check out www.terryAndersonShow.com. On radio last week, a hispanic gang banger with the 18th St. gang called and threated that 50 of them were coming to "get" him. The black community is being destroyed with the gangs.

[AuntB]

FYI

[gubamyster]

ping

[AnnaZ]

For over a week my husband has been obedient and had not brought Al Jazeera West into our home. 'Til today. (Post-football stuff, 'y'know...)

 

Anyway, when I read this I almost vomited. The whole front page was disgusting but this 'blame our (meager) deportations for their crime' insanity was an absolute "gem". I think we'll be back to driving for the New York Post tomorrow. In fact, it's probably time for a subscription.

[AnnaZ]

If possible could a couple of alterations be made here, please? This was an article in the Slimes today, it's not from a blog. Also, the title could include the thrust of the piece, perhaps an added (And it's all our fault, too!).

 

(Gosh, I hate this paper.)

[janetgreen]

There was an article yesterday in the Torrance (CA) Daily Breeze about these gangs. A good example of the third world scum that we're importing into America.

[FITZ]

"Gangs here now copy the whole L.A. gang culture, the way they talk, the clothes they wear and the absolute ruthlessness."

Blame America. But the growing gang-problem here is from immigrants from these countries --- not the hispanic families here before the 1950's, not the whites. These are the riff-raff from the hispanic countries --- they're only copying themselves.

[LNewman]

If possible could a couple of alterations be made here, please? This was an article in the Slimes today, it's not from a blog. Also, the title could include the thrust of the piece, perhaps an added (And it's all our fault, too!).

Well, it's my fault that it was posted in Blogs. Don't subscribe to the LA Slimes and only view it online to check out the "local-local" section. But the homepage hit me between the eyes with this piece. I searched FR a couple different ways not believing that no one had posted it already. Guess whatever unrelated article that came up in the search was posted under blogs. I must have hit "post" from there. Oops!

And, actually, I posted more of the article. However, in "preview" mode, I was warned that the excerpt limit for the LAT was something like 300 words.

And, I agree with you. I cancelled my subscription when my reaction to it started resembling a nasty case of poison ivy.

12,000 "hardened criminal" illegals deported HOME to El Salvador in 6 years ... all "good boys," no doubt, till they hit LA. What was the last quote in the piece? About how one of them came to be deemed worthy of his criminal deportation order? "I went a little crazy there."