Free Republic

THE grim execution-style shootings that killed three college students in a Newark schoolyard two weeks ago bore many hallmarks of gangland slayings, and the culprits clearly wanted it that way. Three of the four victims, two women and two young men aged 18 to 20, were forced to kneel facing a wall before being shot in the head. Both women, one of whom survived, were slashed in the face with a machete or knife. And the MySpace page of one of the six suspects, a 16-year-old who is still at large, pays loving homage to one of the country’s most...

A member of the deadly MS-13 gang got the book thrown at him Friday in a Prince George's County court. A judge sentenced Mario Ayala of Suitland to life behind bars for killing a man who authorities say was part of a rival gang. Last May, the body of Ashley Urias was found beaten in a Suitland cemetery. But authorities caught a big break when a beer bottle was discovered right nearby. On it was Ayala's DNA, and he was arrested a month later. During the trial, prosecutors put a gang expert on the stand, who testified that under MS-13...

MATAMOROS, MEXICO -- The chief officer of the American Consulate in the border city of Matamoros says he is concerned about the Central American Mara Salvatrucha gang helping al-Qaeda. "The Maras are certainly a threat to the United States," Naland said. "The concern is that they might be just the kind of group which would take money to smuggle an honest-to-goodness terrorist into the United States.

A burgeoning East Boston-based street gang made up of alleged rapists and machete-wielding robbers has been linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, prompting Boston police to ``turn up the heat'' on its members, the Herald has learned. MS-13, which stands for La Mara Salvatrucha, is an extremely violent organization with roots in El Salvador, and boasts more than 100 ``hardcore members'' in East Boston who are suspected of brutal machete attacks, rapes and home invasions. There are hundreds more MS-13 gangsters in towns along the North Shore, said Boston police Sgt. Detective Joseph Fiandaca, who has investigated the gang since...

Boston, MA, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Boston police are "turning up the heat" on a violent East Boston gang recently linked to ... al-Qaida ... The gang, La Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13, has roots in El Salvador and been tied to machete attacks, rapes and home invasions. It allegedly has 100 "hard-core members" in East Boston with hundreds more in towns along the North Shore.... . But intelligence officials in Washington have warned in recent weeks that al-Qaida members have been seen in El Salvador with MS-13 members, raising concerns the gang may be smuggling terrorists into the United States....