Ultra-violent MS-13 gang found in 42 states

Cliques of the ultra-violent Latin American MS-13 gang have been identified in 42 U.S. states, according to the director of an FBI task force, speaking at a conference here. Another violent group, the 18th Street Gang, is in 37 states, said Brian Truchon, director of the FBI MS-13 National Gang Task Force, or NGTF. Truchon spoke at the Third Gang Enforcement Conference 2007 conference, which is focusing on MS-13. "One thing we figured out with the on-going cases was that Los Angeles is our starting point," Truchon stressed. "When the gang migrates throughout the U.S., there is always a road back to L.A. From L.A., there is always a road back to Central America." The FBI has identified 13 core cities for MS-13 in the U.S.: Los Angeles, Washington, Baltimore, New York, Houston, Charlotte, Sacramento, Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Omaha, Newark and Boston. Currently, the FBI has in excess of 110 MS-13 investigations in 40 different FBI field offices. For the 18th Street Gang, the FBI has more than 20 on-going investigations in 15 FBI field offices. The FBI has found foreign connectivity from MS-13 and the 18th Street Gang back to El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. "One piece of information a particular FBI field office develops may fit into an international puzzle," Truchon emphasized. "The information might actually help us with a case we are developing in an entirely different city." Truchon said individuals in gang cliques in the U.S. often are influenced by gang members in Latin America, even from within the prisons. "Gang members in a prison in El Salvador are able to reach out from prison and kill gang members in L.A.," he said.