If there ever was a clear and present danger to national security, it’s MS-13. In a national assessment released January 2008, the FBI noted:
“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.” Story upon story shows how dangerous they are. Here’s a recent sample:
Michelle Malkin » The Newark MS-13 massacre: Six indicted
The four students were hanging out behind Mount Vernon School on Aug. 4, 2007, when they were confronted by their attackers with a handgun and a machete. Three of the victims — Terrance Aeriel, 18, Dashon Harvey, 20, and Iofemi Hightower, 20 — were killed when they were lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head. Terrance’s sister, Natasha Aeriel, survived after being shot in the face and left for dead.
Washington Post » MS-13 Member is Convicted In July Death
Prosecutors in the office of State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey alleged that Mario Rodriguez-Gutierrez, 19, fatally shot a stranger to make a name for himself and for his gang. The victim, Francisco Quintanilla, also 19, was not in a gang, authorities said.
Rodriguez-Gutierrez, of Hyattsville, shouted his allegiance to MS-13 as the attack unfolded and did not care whom he shot, Assistant State’s Attorney William D. Moomau said Monday in his opening statement.
WTOP News » Lawyer Admits Client’s Guilt in MS-13 Killing of Pregnant Teen
Four members of the notorious MS-13 street gang who are facing the death penalty for killing a pregnant teenager they believed was a snitch offered starkly different defenses Monday as their trial began.
The lawyer for one of the four defendants essentially admitted his client’s guilt and told the jury that trying to understand the backward code of honor among members of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, is fruitless.
While we rightly focus our time and attention on preventing terrorism, let’s not forget that MS-13 is as dangerous as any radical jihadist group. Stopping them in our communities also means stopping them at our borders. That’s why border security is so vital to protecting our nation from a clear and present danger.
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