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MS-13
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<p>Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international <a href="/facts/Gang/Wj4omovT">criminal gang</a> and <a href="/facts/Terrorist_organization/LmnuRFFL">US-designated terrorist organization</a> that originated in <a href="/facts/Los_Angeles/pyXpYEX9">Los Angeles</a>, California, in the 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect <a href="/facts/Salvadorans/1o1fk3ap">Salvadoran</a> 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 <a href="/facts/18th_Street_gang/NSLuGJJ0">18th Street gang</a>. </p><p>Many MS-13 members were deported to El Salvador after the end of the <a href="/facts/Salvadoran_Civil_War/DgH8x3wo">Salvadoran Civil War</a> in 1992, or upon being arrested, facilitating the spread of the gang to <a href="/facts/Central_America/CXKgTuxC">Central America</a>. 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. </p><p>As an international gang, its history is closely tied to <a href="/facts/United_States%E2%80%93El_Salvador_relations/F4KdXkdG">United States–El Salvador relations</a>. 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. On January 20, 2025, President <a href="/facts/Donald_Trump/pqqKY21P">Donald Trump</a> signed an <a href="/facts/Executive_order/JwJJXBar">executive order</a> initiating the process to designate various <a href="/facts/Drug_cartel/qWXK7Czs">drug cartels</a> and <a href="/facts/Transnational_gangs/DCn1WhPt">transnational gangs</a>, including MS-13, as <a href="/facts/United_States_Department_of_State_list_of_Foreign_Terrorist_Organizations/FoPrmKf5">Foreign Terrorist Organizations</a> (FTOs). The order was officially enacted on February 20, 2025, making such groups officially terrorist organizations. </p>