The Beginning Of The End For MS-13?

To the American tongue honed on the words of television and Webster’s Dictionary, the name Mara Salvatrucha 13 may not roll off so easily. MS-13, on the other hand, shares the fluidity of such initials as NYC or LA, which apart from its violent nature, makes Mara Salvatrucha 13 easy to remember. The gang’s violent behavior has been growing in recent years, amid the discussion of crime and immigration reform. At the center of that discussion has been Suffolk County of late, where the gang has been responsible for some 30 murders since 2013.

According to the Daily News, law enforcement arrested 15 members of MS-13 on Long Island last week. It is here among the immigrant community that the gang with international ties stretching as far as El Salvador has chosen to exercise its particular brand of barbarity. Most of their victims are dismembered, gutted, and in some cases, decapitated.

On Friday President Trump deviated from some of the issues surrounding the White House this week to declare war on the Gang. On the back burner is the “disruption” of transgenders in the military, the failure of the “skinny” repeal to replace parts of Obamacare, and Scaramucci.

The President called on the United States Congress, to provide 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to aid in the effort of securing the borders and deterring illegal immigrants. He also wants a plethora of judges to chair immigration cases and to stanch the flow of federal funds to so-called sanctuary cities.

In a press release from the office of Congressman Lee Zeldin, the Republican from New York had this to say before joining the President on Long Island.

“The rise in gang violence, which is ruining lives, wreaking havoc, and causing irreparable and devastating harm to families, is hitting home in the most personal and tragic way in Suffolk County, where we’ve seen ongoing violence perpetrated by MS-13 and other Central American gangs taking innocent lives and threatening the safety of our schools.”

The members of MS-13 are typified mostly by Central American men, who vigorously audition members of the immigrant community for enrollment when they are not meting out fear and retribution at the edge of a machete.

“They will be out of here quickly,” President Trump said, flanked on stage by men and women of law enforcement on Long Island, where he announced his anti-gang initiative. He praised members of Law Enforcement from coast to coast and vowed the eradication of savage gangs such as MS-13. Trump failed, however, to outline his plan for the liberation of cities like New York and San Francisco, which have found themselves inundated by gang activity in recent years.

Trump’s visit to Long Island comes a day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions flew to El Salvador to discuss with law enforcement officials the efforts to quell the growing problems posed by Ms-13 and its members.

[Featured Image by Spencer Pratt/ Getty Images]