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https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84T00896R000200050002-0.pdf

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https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0001016744.pdf

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El Salvador word document
By:Jaydon Thomas

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https://www.commisceo-global.com/country-guides/el-salvador-guide

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http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/El-Salvador.html

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By:Ethan Carney

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By: Ethan Carney
Gang member getting arrested

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By:Ethan Carney
Picture of gang members

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https://www.insightcrime.org/el-salvador-organized-crime-news/

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Map of El Salvador: By Precious Ekeh

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Map of El Salvador
By:Jaydon Thomas

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War in El Salvador

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Crime in El Salvador part 1
By:Jaydon Thomas

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In El Salvador, Gang Violence is a Part of Everyday Life: Part 1

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This impoverished nation has become the murder capital of the world, and these gangs continue to have ties to the US.

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The El Salvadorian civil war By:Jaydon Thomas

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Background to Story: In El Salvador Left-wing guerrillas are now hitting economic targets, crippling power supplies. US support for the civilian-military junta continues, but France and Mexico have recognised the Left's main opposition bloc - which includes guerrilla groups.

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This is the minor quake in El Salvador. Also how other countries were affected.

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A 7.4 magnitude quake struck off the coast of El Salvador. A tsunami advisory is out for local areas.

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The culture of El Salvador is a very vibrant and rich place. It represents both a lens into ancient history and great promise as a modern developing country. Within the borders of its nation can be found customs and practices that haven’t been changed in thousands years. The culture of El Salvador is very unique.

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Interesting facts about Salvadorian culture!

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Criminal activity Ethan Carney

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They perpetrate violence-from assaults to homicides, using firearms, machetes, or blunt objects-to intimidate rival gangs, law enforcement, and the general public. They often target middle and high school students for recruitment. And they form tenuous alliances...and sometimes vicious rivalries...with other criminal groups, depending on their needs at the time.

Who are they? Members of Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, who are mostly Salvadoran nationals or first generation Salvadoran-Americans, but also Hondurans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, and other Central and South American immigrants. And according to our recent national threat assessment of this growing, mobile street gang, they could be operating in your community...now or in the near future.

Based on information from our own investigations, from our state and local law enforcement partners, and from community organizations, we've concluded that while the threat posed by MS-13 to the U.S. as a whole is at the "medium" level, membership in parts of the country is so concentrated that we've labeled the threat level there "high."

Here are some other highlights from our threat assessment:

MS-13 operates in at least 42 states and the District of Columbia and has about 6,000-10,000 members nationwide. Currently, the threat is highest in the western and northeastern parts of the country, which coincides with elevated Salvadoran immigrant populations in those areas. In the southeast and central regions, the current threat is moderate to low, but recently, we've seen an influx of MS-13 members into the southeast, causing an increase in violent crimes there.

MS-13 members engage in a wide range of criminal activity, including drug distribution, murder, rape, prostitution, robbery, home invasions, immigration offenses, kidnapping, carjackings/auto thefts, and vandalism. Most of these crimes, you'll notice, have one thing in common-they are exceedingly violent. And while most of the violence is directed toward other MS-13 members or rival street gangs, innocent citizens often get caught in the crossfire.

MS-13 is expanding its membership at a "moderate" rate through recruitment and migration. Some MS-13 members move to get jobs or to be near family members-currently, the southeast and the northeast are seeing the largest increases in membership. MS-13 often recruits new members by glorifying the gang lifestyle (often on the Internet, complete with pictures and videos) and by absorbing smaller gangs.

Speaking of employment, MS-13 members typically work for legitimate businesses by presenting false documentation. They primarily pick employers that don't scrutinize employment documents, especially in the construction, restaurant, delivery service, and landscaping industries.

Right now, MS-13 has no official national leadership structure. MS-13 originated in Los Angeles, but when members migrated eastward, they began forming cliques that for the most part operated independently. These cliques, though, often maintain regular contact with members in other regions to coordinate recruitment/criminal activities and to prevent conflicts. We do believe that Los Angeles gang members have an elevated status among their MS-13 counterparts across the country, a system of respect that could potentially evolve into a more organized national leadership structure.

One final word about MS-13: the FBI, through its MS-13 National Joint Task Force and field investigations, remains committed to working with our local, state, national, and international partners to disrupt and dismantle this violent gang.

Note: the assessment is law enforcement sensitive and is not publicly available.

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They perpetrate violence-from assaults to homicides, using firearms, machetes, or blunt objects-to intimidate rival gangs, law enforcement, and the general public. They often target middle and high school students for recruitment. And they form tenuous alliances...and sometimes vicious rivalries...with other criminal groups, depending on their needs at the time.

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Criminal Activity Ethan Carney

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One of President Trump's main goals in office is to combat the notoriously violent MS-13 gang.

The gang, responsible for dozens of gruesome deaths throughout the U.S., was designated a "priority" last year by the Department of Justice's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. Prosecutors are able to pursue any legal avenue to target MS-13, according to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Read on for a look at the gang and the Trump administration's fight against it.

What is MS-13?

MS-13 was started by Central American immigrants, mainly from El Salvador, in Los Angeles in the 1980s. It has expanded since to include Hondurans, Guatemalans, Mexicans and other Central and South Americans.

MS-13's motto is "mata, viola, controla" - which means "kill, rape, control," according to Robert Hur, an official with the Justice Department.

"They seek to live up to this motto through truly shocking acts of violence designed to instill fear: vicious machete attacks, execution-style gunshots, gang rape and human trafficking."

Gang members perpetuate a number of various criminal acts, according to the FBI, including: murder, rape, home invasions, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery. The FBI said most of the crimes are carried out against members of rival gangs, but "often" innocent people are hurt as well.

Is it a big threat?

MS-13 recruits are middle- and high-school students, predominantly in immigrant communities, who are said to risk violent retribution if they leave.

Authorities estimate the group has tens of thousands of members across several Central American countries and many U.S. states. MS-13's presence is higher in the western and northeastern parts of the U.S., according to the FBI.
OFFICIALS DETAIL BEST WAYS TO COMBAT MS-13
The gang is believed to be behind 25 killings on Long Island in the past two years.

What has the Trump administration said about MS-13?

Trump called on Congress to "finally close the deadly loopholes that have allowed MS-13 members" into the U.S. during his first State of the Union address.

He also acknowledged parents of MS-13 victims - some of whom were guests of the White House for the speech - and said the country "is praying for you."

Trump has often blamed the Obama administration for the rise of MS-13 across the country. The gang was sanctioned as a transnational criminal organization by the Treasury Department in 2012.

Trump's Justice and Homeland Security Departments have made targeting the gang a top priority. Sessions instructed his department's law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors across the country to prioritize MS-13 members' prosecution, as directed by an executive order Trump signed in February 2017.

The classification of MS-13 allows some local police departments to tap into federal money to help with investigations. Suffolk County was granted $500,000 by the federal government.

Trump in July 2017 visited Brentwood, N.Y., a town that has experienced firsthand the tragedy caused by MS-13, and pledged to push Congress for additional federal immigration agents to crack down on gang members who are in the country illegally. He also called MS-13 members "animals."

What are some of MS-13's more notable killings?

-Two teenage girls from Brentwood, N.Y. were found dead after being brutally beaten and cut in September 2016. Kayla Cuevas, 16, was targeted by gang members and her friend, 15-year-old Nisa Mickens, tried to scare off the attackers, WPIX-TV reported.

-The remains of Oscar Acosta, a 19-year-old high school senior, were found in a wooded area in Brentwood in September 2016. Acosta, who had been missing for months, came to the U.S. from El Salvador and had told his mother he was worried about gangs, she told WNBC-TV.

-The remains of Miguel Garcia-Moran were found in the same area as Acosta's in September 2016. He was 15 years old at the time of his death and had been missing since February. Police said he was the victim of a homicidal beating.

- Damaris Reyes Rivas, 15, was killed in January 2017 and found one month later buried under railroad ties. The teenager, from Gaithersburg, Maryland, was stabbed multiple times by MS-13 gang members who filmed the brutal attack. Venus Romero Iraheta, who was 17 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty in 2018 to the murder. She told Reyes Rivas "don't forget my name" during the slaying, Iraheta told investigators.

-Police in Nassau County charged Kevin Granados-Coreas, 19, and Carlos Portillo, 22, with second-degree murder in the killing of Julio Cesar Gonzales-Espantzay. Police said MS-13 gang members lured the 19-year-old with the promise of marijuana and sex before they hacked him to death in a park. Gonzales-Espantzay was not a gang member, police said.

-Prosecutors said Christian Villagran Morales was stabbed more than 153 times in a Maryland park. Juan Gutierrez-Vazquez took part in the 2016 killing, holding down the victim while other gang members took turns stabbing him, prosecutors said. Gutierrez-Vazquez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Vanesa Alvarado, who was accused of luring Morales to the park, was also sentenced to 40 years in jail.

-The bodies of four young men, ranging in ages from 16 to 20, were found in April 2017 in a park in Central Islip, N.Y. Police said all had signs of "significant trauma." Justin Llivicura, 16; Michael Lopez Banegas, 20; Jefferson Villalobos, 18; and Jorge Tigre, 18; were reportedly lured to the park by two women associated with MS-13 before they were ambushed by more than a dozen gang members armed with wooden clubs and machetes.

- Angel Soler was 15 years old when he went missing in July 2017. His body was found a few months later in the Roosevelt hamlet of Long Island, police said. Soler was hacked to death with a machete as he was attacked by a group of people, police said. Several MS-13 members have been indicted or charged in connection to his murder.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn is a Reporter for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter @K_Schallhorn.

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What is MS-13, the violent gang Trump vowed to target?

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One of President Trump's main goals in office is to combat the notoriously violent MS-13 gang. The gang, responsible for dozens of gruesome deaths throughout the U.S., was designated a "priority" last year by the Department of Justice's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

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Jaydon Thomas, Ethan Carney, Lesly Sibrian-Guzman, Precious Ekeh