MS-13

Mara Salvatrucha

Members frequently have identifiable tattoos
Founded	1980s[1]
Founding location	Pico-Union, Los Angeles, California, United States[1]
Years active	1980s–present
Territory	El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, United States, Canada and Spain[2][3][4]
Ethnicity	Primarily Salvadoran, but also Honduran, Guatemalan and Mexican[5][6]
Membership (est.)	30,000–50,000 (global)[7] 8,000–10,000 (United States)[8]
Activities	Drug trafficking, alien smuggling, weapons trafficking, murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, identification theft, prostitution, robbery, auto theft, extortion, vandalism[6][8][9]
Allies	Gulf Cartel[10] Jalisco New Generation Cartel[10] Mexican Mafia[11] Sinaloa Cartel[10] Sureños and affiliated gangs[12] Los Zetas[13]
Rivals	18th Street gang[14] Bloods[15] Latin Kings[15] Norteños and affiliated gangs[11] Tiny Rascal Gang[16]

Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area. Over time, the gang grew into a more traditional criminal organization. MS-13 has a longtime rivalry with the 18th Street gang.

Many MS-13 members were deported to El Salvador after the end of the Salvadoran Civil War in 1992, or upon being arrested, facilitating the spread of the gang to Central America. The gang is currently active in many parts of the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Most members are Central American—Salvadorans in particular.

As an international gang, its history is closely tied to United States–El Salvador relations. In 2018, the gang's US membership of up to 10,000 accounted for less than 1% of the 1.4 million gang members in the United States, and a similar share of gang murders.