MS 13 (Mara Salvatrucha)

Gangsta Girls      By Victoria Hart Covelli Glavin Girls have always been associated with male gang members as girlfriends, lookouts, low level messengers, sex objects and/or wives.  Girls are no longer just appendages to male gangs as more and more females have become involved with street gangs such as the Bloods, United Blood Nation, Crips, Mexican Mafia, Salvadorians With Pride, MS-13, 18th Street Gang, etc.  Female gang membership is rapidly rising in the United States.  Either females are joining "girl only" gangs ("Knockout Homies," "Most Wanted Honeyz") or traditional male gangs.  These female gang members participate in all of the crimes and acts of ... Read Full Story

This is our group blog, which is unique because any Zimbio member can post an entry to it. Some members blog about recent news and trends related to the portal topic, others recount relevant personal stories. You can also comment on and rate existing blog entries, to voice your opinion and to help the community identify which members and entries on the portal are must-reads. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this portal? Well, then put on your journalist's cap and add your own blog entry ! Read Full Story

As details concerning the identity of the 21 suspects arrested in Britain's latest anti-terrorist raids begin to emerge -- the Times reports that they are "believed to be British citizens, many of Pakistani origin" -- it is worth recalling that... Read Full Story

Violence Suppression Team was formed by municipal police forces and the RCMP after the unprecedented gangland slaughter of six people in a Surrey highrise last fall. Since then, the team has pulled over gangsters in 2,334 cars, some multiple times, and seized 20 guns, Robinson told reporters on the last day of the Western Canada Gang Conference.The street-level uniformed team has also made 34 arrests, laid 52 charges and seized five sets of body armour since its formation Nov. 14.But more important, Robinson said, are the 1,234 "high-value intelligence reports" the team has developed. These aid beat cops in the areas where gangsters party. ... Read Full Story

Axel Danilo Ramirez Espinoza, known as “El Smiley” and the reputed leader of the Mara 18 gang, was arrested after a gunfight that left another suspected criminal dead, deputy police director Rember Larios said.The 22-year-old Ramirez was identified publicly last month by Interior Minister Salvador Gandara as the person behind this year’s wave of killings of bus drivers who resisted the extortion.Eighty-five drivers were murdered last year, more than double the 37 slain in 2007, according to police statistics, while the 2009 toll is already nearing 100, including drivers, drivers’ assistants, passengers, mechanics and even a government inspector. More than 1 million people in ... Read Full Story