[Roberto Valencia, Letter from Zacatraz. Libros del K.O. Madrid, 2018. 384 pp.]

review / Jimena Villacorta

The story of El Directo – a young Salvadoran man who at the age of 17 was blamed for 17 murders, who was in and out of prison and was eventually sentenced by his fellow gang members – serves as a canvas for an even bigger picture: the serious social problem posed by violent gangs in Central America, particularly in El Salvador.

Roberto Valencia, a Spanish journalist who has lived in that Central American country for almost twenty years, has dedicated time and effort to addressing this problem in depth as a reporter for "El Faro". portal Salvadoran news outlet awarded for his research. Letter from Zacatraz (as the local media call the maximum security prison of Zacateoluca) is a journalistic story that through a concrete story exposes the broader panorama of a truly complex reality.

September 11, 2012 was the first time Valencia sat down to talk with Gustavo Adolfo Parada Morales, alias El Directo, someone who for years had garnered media attention, despite the existence of thousands of other young people involved in gangs. That contact staff encouraged the journalist to seek out other testimonies, including fill in a book that collects Parada's direct voice and that of people who knew him, based on interviews with those who loved him, such as his mother or his wife, and with those who confronted him, such as some judges.

As a result of an unwanted pregnancy, El Directo was born on January 25, 1982 in the city of San Miguel. Barely two decades later, he was already the most dangerous and feared man in El Salvador, or at least that's how the media projected him. A member of the Pana di Locos, a clique of the Mara Salvatrucha, he became the main public enemy. From the age of 17, accused of as many murders (of which he only admitted six) and various crimes, El Directo was in three juvenile detention centers and nine prisons. He had the opportunity to start a new life in Costa Rica, but it was ruined. He didn't make it to the United States. He was free for several months, but it wasn't long before the police recaptured him.

Through Parada's life, the author projects the phenomenon of the maras in El Salvador. It emphasizes how this phenomenon mainly affects the lower classes, while the rest of society does not realize the full magnitude of the problem and, therefore, is not interested in finding a solution. How is it possible, Valencia asks, that a society like El Salvador's, with 6.5 million inhabitants, tolerates an average of 10 homicides a day, not to mention the numerous other crimes, in a country where 1% of the population are gang members.

The repressive measures applied by the governments of the right (ARENA) and the left (FMLN) have not improved the gang problem. They have been growing, both inside and outside detention centres, many of which are in a deplorable state. It is precisely the condition of the prisons that aggravates the status: The infrastructure is damaged, there is a great deal of unsanitary conditions and overcrowding is extreme. In most prisons, gang leaders have a large share of control and dominate their respective organizations. "El Salvador's prison system is the most overcrowded in the hemisphere, according to the Organization of American States," Valencia said.

El Directo went through several prisons, where he was seriously wounded on multiple occasions, sometimes by order of the Mara Salvatrucha, which declared him a traitor and threatened to kill him, and other times by police and prison employees. After a few months in prison, he decided to reform himself and give up his activity in the MS. This brought him several opportunities, but he returned to prison. He was finally murdered in 2013, at the age of 31, by members of his new gang, La Mirada Locos, because he had been accused of ordering the killing of someone from the organization with whose wife he had had an affair.

It is interesting to note how in a country where a large number of crimes are recorded, for at least ten years the case of El Directo had an absolute priority in the media, which often exaggerated Parada's criminal record. "We live in a country where great murderers have been granted amnesty. The drugs circulate relatively freely and, despite the fact that police officials have said that there are important names in the business, of the state apparatus and the army involved in drug trafficking, we have not seen any arrests at that level," he told Valencia President of the Central American University, José María Tojeira. And he adds: "Income tax evasion is a fairly widespread vice among the wealthiest sectors. The police are still dealing with a Degree of significant corruption. Deputies are pardoned or investigated for acts in which the life or honor of other citizens has been severely threatened." For his part, Fernando Sáenz Lacalle, archbishop emeritus of San Salvador, regrets that journalists, commentators, analysts and politicians repeated over and over again, "like a church choir, the false refrain of the 17 years, 17 murders." In his opinion, "perhaps they went too far in terms of display and arrogance," according to Valencia.

Roberto Valencia concludes that the problem with the media is that at first they were benevolent towards the gangs, and then magnified the phenomenon, not to mention the repressive measures and the policies used to combat them.

Letter from Zacatraz is not a condescending book, but the criticism does not drown all hope. He warns that Salvadorans have become accustomed to living with this problem. Nowadays it is more common to avoid certain places that are known to be dangerous, than to try to fight for the betterment of the country. But it fosters confidence that shattered lives like El Directo's will serve to make new generations want something better for themselves.

Washington alerts on the increase of violent, transnational gangs and estimates that MS-13 has reached an all-time high with 10,000 members

The Trump Administration has reported on the increase of violent, transnational gangs within the United States, specifically on Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, which also keeps a connection to the organization in Central America's Northern Triangle. Even though United States' President Donald Trump has addressed this issue demagogically, criminalizing immigration and overlooking the fact that said organization originated in Los Angeles, California, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) asserts such organizations are recruiting more youths than ever and demanding more violent behavior from its members. American authorities estimate these gangs are partially controlled from El Salvador, although this hierarchy is not as clear.

▲ Mara Salvatrucha graffiti [Wikimedia Commons].

ARTICLE / Lisa Cubías[English version] [Spanish version].

Never has probably an utterance of the word "animal" caused as much controversy in the US as President Donald Trump's reference to MS-13 gang members on May 16th, 2018. Initially, it seemed as a reference to all undocumented immigrants, thus provoking immediate and widespread rejection; it was then clarified that the address referred to gang members illegally entering the United States to commit acts of violence. Trump placed his already declared war on gangs within the frame of his zero tolerance immigration policies and reinforcement of national bodies, such as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in order to reduce immigration flows from Latin America to the United States.

The description of the phenomenon of gangs conformed by Latin American youths as a migratory issue had already surfaced on President Trump's State of the Union address on January 28th, 2018. Before the US Congress, he shared the story of two American teenagers, Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens, who were brutally murdered by six MS-13 gang members on their way home. He asserted that the perpetrators took advantage of loopholes in immigration legislation and reiterated his stance that the US Congress must address and fill in such loopholes in order to prevent gang members from entering the United States through them.

Despite Trump's demagogical simplification of the issue at hand, truth is that such organizations were born in the US. They are, as The Washington Post said, "as American-made as Google." They originated in Los Angeles, California, first due to Mexican immigration and furthered by the arrival of immigrants and refugees from the armed conflicts taking place in Central America. El Salvador saw the rise and fall of long twelve years of civil war between the government and left-wing guerrilla groups during the 1980s. The extent and brutality of the conflict, along with the political and economic instability the country was undergoing propelled an exodus of Salvadorans towards the United States. The flow of youths from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala propelled the rise of Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, and the 18th Street gang, both related to the already existing Mexican Mafia (The M).

When peace arrived in Central America during the 90s, various of such youths returned to their home countries, either following their families or expelled by American authorities due to their ongoing criminal activity. In this way it was that gangs began their criminal activity in the Northern Triangle, where to this date they continue constituting a critical social problem.

Transnationality

According to the US Department of Justice, there are around 33,000 violent street gangs, with a total of 1.4 million members. MS-13, with around 10,000 enlisted youths, represents 1% from the total figure and in 2017 only 17 members were indicted, and still deserves the White House's complete attention. At the margin of possible political interests on behalf of the Trump administration, truth is that US authorities have emphasized its increase and danger, besides stating certain commands are given all the way from El Salvador. Such transnationality is viewed in an alarming light.

The United States does not recognize MS-13 as a terrorist organization, as it is not included in their National Strategy for Counterterrorism, released during October 2018. It is instead catalogued as a transnational criminal organization, as mentioned by a document issued by the US Department of Justice on April 2017. According to the report, several of its leaders are imprisoned in El Salvador and are sending representatives to cross into the United States illegally to unify the gangs operating on US territory, while forcing US based MS-13 gangs to send their illegal profits back to gang leaders in El Salvador and motivating them to exert more control and violence over their territories.

According to the FBI, MS-13 and 18th Street "continue to expand their influence in the US." These transnational gangs "are present in almost every state and continue to grow their memberships, now targeting younger recruits more than ever before." The US Attorney General warned in 2017 that they numbers are "up significantly from just a few years ago." "Transnational criminal organizations like MS-13 represent one of the gravest threats to American safety," he said.

Stephen Richardson, assistant director of the FBI's criminal investigative division, told Congress in January 2018 that the mass arrests and imprisonment of MS-13 members and mid-level leaders over the past year in the US have frustrated MS-13 leaders in El Salvador. "They're very much interested in sending younger, more violent offenders up through their channels into this country in order to be enforcers for the gang," he told the House Committee on Homeland Security.

The transnational character of MS-13 is contested by expert Roberto Valencia, author of articles and books on the maras. He works as a journalist in El Faro, a leading investigative reporting digital average outlet in El Salvador; his latest book, titled Carta desde Zacatraz (Letter from Zacatraz), was just published some months ago.

"At first, gangs in Los Angeles served as moral guides over those who migrated back to El Salvador during the 90s. Some of the veteran leaders living now in El Salvador grew up in Los Angeles and they have kept staff and emotional ties with the gang structures where they were enrolled," Valencia tells Global Affairs. "Notwithstanding," he says, "that doesn't imply an international connection: everyone, regardless of where they live, believe they are the gang's essence and are not subordinated to another's country organization." "They share a deeply staff relationship and that is not as easily dissolved, but the link as organization broke time ago," he sums up.

Valencia strongly rejects any interference by the MS-13 chapter in the United States into the one in El Salvador. Instead, he admits there could be some type of influence going the other way around, as Salvadoran gang members in the United States "can be deported to El Salvador and end up in Salvadoran jails, where they can be punished by the jail mafias."

Migrants: cause or consequence?

Roberto Valencia also addresses President Trump and his references to gangs: "Trump speaks about MS-13 in order to win votes under the premise of migration policy that ends up criminalizing every single immigrant. It is outrageous Trump presents them as the cause, when gangs actually started in the US. In fact, the vast majority of the Northern Triangle's emigrants arrive in the United States escaping from gangs."

In Central America, the control gangs exert over low-income territory ranges from the request of "rent" for businesses located within their areas, to forcing and threatening old women to take care of unregistered newly born children and "requesting" young girls to act as the gang's head girlfriend or otherwise be killed along with her family. The request for young girls is an extremely common cause for migration, which also denotes the misogynistic culture in Latin American countries' rural areas. 

The majority of President Trump's remarks have depicted MS-13 as a threat to public safety and stability of American communities. Nevertheless, the Center for Immigration Studies, prominent independent and non-profit research organization, conducted a research on MS-13 impact in the United States and the immigration measures the administration should take to control their presence. It catalogues MS-13 and other gangs as a threat to public safety, sharing President Trump's point of view. Notwithstanding, its view is not influenced by the political landscape, and it specifically refers to gangs alone; no mention of regular immigrants or those traveling the recent caravans is made and tied with criminal activity of said impact.

Greg Hunter, American criminal defense attorney and former member from the Arlington County cafeteria Association Board of Directors from 2002 until 2006 and active member at the Criminal Justice Act Panel for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia since 2001 until the present day, has closely worked with gang-related criminal cases and affirms how cases related to shoplifting and illegal migration are far more frequent than those that are catalogued as threats to public safety or to the "American community," such as drug trafficking and murders. He also alluded to the fact that these organizations are not centralized and operate under the same identity and yet don't follow the same orders. Efforts have been made to centralize operations but have proven ineffective.

It is crucial to consider statistical trends on the influx of immigrants in the face of the recent immigrant caravans departing from the Northern Triangle, which have proven to be a focal and recent point of discussion in the gang discussion. Upon the news of their departure towards the United States, President Trump catalogued the entirety of the immigrants composing caravans as "stone cold criminals," essentially contradicting previous US Customs and Border Protection records. In its Security Report for 2017, it depicts a total of 526,901 illegal immigrants with denied entry, from which 310,531 where apprehended and 31,039 arrested. Among the arrested immigrants there were only 228 MS-13 members (there were 61 members of the 18th Street gang as well). Instead, caravans are composed from various citizens fleeing the violence caused by MS-13 in the Northern Triangle, rather than gang members seeking to take their criminal activities towards the United States.

Washington warns of the increase in violent transnational gangs, estimates that MS-13 has as many as 10,000 members

The Trump administration has drawn attention to an increase in violent transnational gangs in the United States, particularly the Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13, which maintains links to gang members in Central America's Northern Triangle. Although Trump has invoked this issue in a demagogic way, criminalizing immigration and forgetting that the Central American gangs were born in Los Angeles, the FBI notes that these organizations are recruiting more young people than ever before and demanding greater violence from their members. U.S. authorities believe that these gangs are governed to some extent from El Salvador, but that hierarchy is less clear.

▲ Mara Salvatrucha graffiti [Wikimedia Commons]

article / Lisa Cubías

Never before has the word "animal" caused so much controversy in the United States as when it was uttered by President Donald Trump in reference to the members of the Marasalvatrucha or MS 13, on May 16. It initially appeared to refer to all undocumented immigrants, prompting widespread pushback; He went on to say that the label he had wanted to apply it to gang members who come to the United States illegally to commit acts of violence. Trump placed his war on gangs in the framework of its zero-tolerance migration policy and the reinforcement of national agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in order to reduce migratory flows from Latin America to the United States.

The description of the phenomenon of Latino youth gangs as a migration problem had already surfaced in the United States. speech of the State of the Union that Trump delivered on Jan. 28. In the face of the congress Trump told the story of two teenagers, Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens, who had been brutally murdered by six MS-13 members on their way home. He said that criminals had taken advantage of loopholes in immigration legislation to live in the United States and reiterated that the congress It had to act to close them down and prevent gang members from using them to enter the country.

Despite Trump's demagogic simplification, the truth is that Latino gangs are a product of the United States. They are, as The Washington Post has put it, "as made in America as Google." They were born in Los Angeles, first to children of Mexican immigration and then fueled by the arrival of emigrants and refugees fleeing armed conflicts in Central America. Thus, El Salvador saw the emergence of a twelve-year civil war between the government and leftist guerrillas during the 1980s. The duration and brutality of the conflict, along with the political and economic instability that the country was experiencing, drove the exodus of Salvadorans to the United States. The influx of young people from El Salvador, as well as Honduras and Guatemala, led to the emergence of the Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs, both of which were linked to the pre-existing Mexican Mafia (La M).

When peace came to Central America in the 1990s, many of these young people returned to their countries, following their families or being expelled by U.S. authorities because of their criminal activities. In this way, the maras began to operate in the Northern Triangle, where they constitute a serious social problem.

Transnationality

According to the department According to the U.S., there are about 33,000 violent street gangs, with a total of 1.4 million members. MS-13, with about 10,000 young people enrolled, accounts for only 1% of that total and in 2017 only 17 of its members were prosecuted, and yet it deserves the full attention of the White House. Apart from the possible political interests of the Trump Administration, the truth is that the US authorities have been highlighting its increase and its danger, in addition to warning that certain orders are issued from El Salvador. This transnationality is viewed with concern.

The United States does not recognize MS-13 as a terrorist organization, and therefore has not included it in its National Counterterrorism Strategy released in October 2018. It is, on the other hand, classified as a transnational criminal organization, as described by adocument of the department April 2017. According to the report, several of the gang leaders are incarcerated in El Salvador and are sending representatives to cross illegally into the United States in order to unify the gangs operating in the United States, while forcing the U.S. MS-13 organization to send its illegal profits to the leaders of the United States. group in El Salvador and to exert more control and violence over their territories.

The FBI says MS-13 and Barrio 18 "continue to expand their influence in the United States." These transnational gangs "are present in almost every state and continue to grow in the United States." issue of members, now targeting recruits younger than ever before." As indicated by the grade of the department of Justice, the Attorney General warned that "in the last five years alone" the issue "has gone up significantly." "Transnational criminal organizations like MS-13 pose one of the most serious threats to U.S. security," he said.

Stephen Richardson, director attachment of the Division of research FBI criminal,told the congressIn January 2018, the mass arrests and imprisonment of MS-13 members and mid-level leaders over the past year in the United States have caused frustration for MS-13 leaders in El Salvador. "They're very interested in sending younger, more violent offenders through their channels into this country to be gang thugs," he told the committee House of Representatives.

The transnational nature of MS-13 is questioned by expert Roberto Valencia, author of articles and books on the maras. She works as a journalist at El Faro, one of El Salvador's leading digital media outlets; his latest book, graduate Letter from Zacatraz, was published a few months ago.

"In the beginning, Los Angeles gangs served as moral guides for those who immigrated to El Salvador during the 1990s. Some of the veteran leaders now living in El Salvador grew up in Los Angeles and have maintained personal and emotional ties with the Structures of the gangs they belonged to," Valencia tells Global Affairs. "However," he adds, "that doesn't imply an international connection: everyone, no matter where they live, believes they are the essence of the gang and are not subordinate to another country's organization." "Some leaders in El Salvador share a very close relationship. staff with the organization in which they started in the United States, and that doesn't dissolve so easily, but the link as a single organization was broken a long time ago," he says.

Valencia firmly rejects any interference by the U.S. MS-13 in El Salvador. He admits, instead, that there may be some subject Salvadoran gang members in the United States "can be deported to El Salvador and end up in Salvadoran prisons, where they can be punished by prison mafias."

Migrants: Cause or Consequence?

Roberto Valencia also speaks out about Donald Trump's references to gangs: "Trump talks about MS-13 to win votes under the premise of an immigration policy that ends up criminalizing all immigrants. It is outrageous that Trump presents them as the cause, when gangs started in the United States. In fact, the vast majority of migrants from the Northern Triangle come to the U.S. escaping gangs."

In Central America, gang control over a society that is poor ranges from demanding "rent" (extortion) from companies and people who have small businesses, to forcing older women to take care of babies that gang members have had, to "asking" young girls to be girlfriends of the gang's main leader if they don't want to be killed themselves and their families. The application of young girls is an extremely common cause of migration, which also denotes the misogynistic culture in rural areas of Latin American countries.

In most of his comments, Trump has described MS-13 as a threat to public safety and the stability of American communities. However, the programs of study of Immigration, a leading organization of research independent and non-profit, conducted aresearch on the impact of MS-13 in the United States and addressed the immigration measures that the Administration should take to control its presence. He considered that MS-13 and other gangs are certainly a threat to public safety, thus sharing Trump's point of view, but he disagreed with him by not linking immigration to the impact of gangs.

U.S. attorney Greg Hunter, who has been a member of the panel for Criminal Justice Law in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia since 2001 and has worked on gang-related matters, says that shoplifting and illegal immigration cases are far more prevalent than those that can be categorized as threats to public safety or the "American community." such as drug trafficking and murders. It also alludes to the fact that these organizations are not centralized, and although they operate under the same identity, they do not follow the same orders. He says the gangs have made efforts to centralize operations, but they haveresult Ineffective.

It is crucial to take into account the statistics on the influx of immigrants when assessing the recent caravans of migrants from the Northern Triangle that Trump has sought to link to gangs. The U.S. president called those migrants "stone-cold criminals."

However, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection record does not suggest this. In hisreport The 2017 Security Agency counts a total of 526,901 illegal immigrants who were denied entrance, of whom 310,531 were arrested and 31,039 arrested; of the latter, only 228 belonged to MS-13 and as many were members of other gangs (61 of them from Barrio-18).