Raids on MS-13

[Os Cangaceiros]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/16/justice/ms-13-gang-arrests/index.html

[MarxSchmarx]

I'm surprised to see the US waiting until around now to go after them. I wonder if it has anything to do with the new drug policy in Mexico or with America's immigration law being a timely political issue. Why do you suppose this is particularly salient now?

[Os Cangaceiros]

I'm not sure. I think that MS-13 has been in the news a bit more recently with what seems like the continuously deteriorating situation in Honduras, and their recent "peace treaty" with their main rivals Calle 18. MS-13 in general gets trumped up a lot in the American media as a super-ruthless and crazy criminal organization, a charge which I guess has some basis in fact. They definitely are a really big transnational crime syndicate and they've committed some terrible acts in Honduras, El Salvador etc.

Their history is pretty interesting. I guess the US government inadvertently played a very significant role in their "rise to power", in the aftermath of the 1992 LA riots.