Suffice it to say that this is a large problem we are addressing, and getting larger all the time.

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1 SCAIPJC INTERNATIONAL GANGS : DRAFT During my trip to Honduras in February and early March, I had the good fortune of doing my intensive Spanish work with teachers who were willing to find articles and engage me in conversation on the very themes that interest our commission. In addition, Padre Jose Luis Mendoza and I had opportunity to interview Fray Santiago Gonzales, an Episcopal monk who works among the gangs (las maras, in Spanish) in the San Pedro Sula area. He is primarily a pastoral presence, serving on the streets, in hospitals or elsewhere when people are dying, especially from gang violence, whether they are the victims of gang members (mareros) or gang members who become victims of others or the police. Fray Santiago is trusted because he does not serve as an informer. This is really a very broad subject, and I wish I could tell you that I already see a thread of something that we can and should do with regard to developing policy on this for The Episcopal Church, in a way that might be helpful to anyone. It is too early, and we shall need more input and conversations. Instead, I am going to do a brief overview of what I have learned and what seems to be going on. Some of you are already better informed about this than I am, so please be patient with the rest of us as we try to get on the same page. Suffice it to say that this is a large problem we are addressing, and getting larger all the time. Origins and structure of the maras Some believe that the international gangs have local origins in three countries of Central America specifically, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Others believe that the most significant origins were in the barrios of Los Angeles in the 1990s, enhanced and strengthened when many served together in prison, and greatly augmented after the deportation of thousands of Salvadorenos from Southern California prisons during the last decade or so. While many of these were illegal immigrants, actually youth between the ages of 15 and 25 (even 30), the situation was not simple. Many of them were street thugs (ladrones) with some relationships at home and in California. During their prison stays, they got to know one another even better and they made linkages that they carried beyond prison walls. The largest of these gangs is Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS- 13. The other large gangs are Diez y Ocho (18) and Batos Locos. Founded in the 90s, these groups have grown dramatically in size and sophistication. They are no longer a group of rough-edged adolescents with weapons that are too big for them. Over the years they have been joined by ex-guerrillas and paramilitary soldiers who are well-versed in weaponry and able to get and distribute weapons. Of course, new youth are constantly being engaged and involved in the structure, and the youth in various neighborhoods are often given or sold weapons. It is not unusual to hear of a 12 year old with an AK47. These precandidatos do a level of dirty work and malicious mischief that is often more random and unpredictable than a gang might prefer, but by it the precandidatos hope to prove their value to the gangs and elicit an invitation to join. Youth are often common

2 thieves, stick-up men, etc., and they are used as drug runners. The gangs are very willing to use them and yet find them disposable. However, once someone actually becomes a part of a mara, there are insurance, burial and social security policies and plans to care for them and their families in case of accident, illness, incarceration or death. It seems similar to the Mafia in this regard, and while I have not read this anywhere yet, it seems that they have links to the Mafia which have helped them learn more about trafficking, distribution of narcotics and structure. There is a hierarchy, again similar to that of the Mafia. Gangs often live in groups or communities, in which the women do everything. The wife of the leader is in control, gives orders, and may insist on beating another or even having her killed. I am not sure, but it seems to me that unlike the Mafia, there are more members in very high places, particularly the courts, the police and the government, as well as particular industries that are helpful to their work. Bribery is common, as is graft, which is similar to the Mafia, but these high-placed gang members are not simply co-opted; they are leaders and directors of the gangs. While the wearing of tattoos is common at the lower levels of membership, that is not the case with the directors, with the possible exception of very small dots on certain parts of the body which only hint at a symbol of the gang. In the past couple of years, since tattoos have been banned in Honduras, gang members are now known by the particular swagger or walk that they affect. Nature and scope of the maras While it is difficult to observe any real sense of the value of human life or any real ethic or moral stance in the gangs operations, actions and behaviors, there is a sense of protection of those who are trusted members. However, trusted seems to indicate that the gang has enough information on anyone that it is impossible to leave and to go straight. That is true for family members as well, and even if mareros do not share information of their work and related contacts with their women [I use this term purposefully, for even when there is love, there seems to be a strong sense of possession and possessiveness], it seems to be assumed that these women know too much and if there is trouble or the suspicion of it, women and children are killed as well as the troublesome marero. Theirs is a hard life, with potentially very short life spans, and even though these insurance policies exist, the lower level marero is part of the structure and is more expendable. Colombia (which is war-torn), Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are the most violent countries in this region, with very high death rates. Studies show that over 90% of deaths due to firearms are youth between the ages of 15 and 17. In 2004, that total was about 3,000 in Honduras alone One reason it is so difficult to escape from gang membership is due to the sheer size and international scope of the gangs. A 1997 report from the FBI, cited in El Heraldo (Honduran paper) indicates that there are more than 10,000 members of the gangs operating in thirty-three states of the USA. In addition, there are well over 50,000 members world-wide, with the strongest concentrations in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, followed by Mexico, Belize and Canada. Of course there are members in

3 northern South America and Europe. It seems to me that the drug cartels in SA do much of the producing and initial shipments of drugs to Central American countries, especially Honduras, and that the gangs do not involve themselves and get in the way of the cartels very much at this early stage. Honduras, situated between El Salvador and Guatemala, has become the center of most of the trafficking. The situation is so bad, that a few weeks ago the President of that country, at an international conference in Paris, suggested that it would be a significant help to solving Honduras problems with drug trafficking and all the violence, graft and corruption that accompany it, if the United States legalized drugs. Oddly enough, he is probably right in that that would likely change the quantity and nature of crime in his country and much of the Americas. (Of course, that does not take into account the economic and social effects on this same region if the USA were to become a nation of addicts.) The work of the maras The primary activities of the gangs are drug trafficking, human trafficking (both for sexual exploitation and illegal immigration), extortion and money-laundering. As with older, more established gangs in other parts of the world, they are developing legitimate businesses as fronts, as locations for money-laundering, and also to bring in on-going income. One of the side-issues is the kidnapping of people of means or public figures and holding them for ransom. This has affected the families of executives, sports figures and even the son of a former president of Honduras, during the time the father was president of a large bank. The son was killed. These crimes do not seem to be easily connected to the gangs, for there is a randomness about them and a sloppiness that often shows they are not well-planned or executed, and the kidnapped person dies or is killed during the kidnapping or the period of secuestration (my computer does not like this word, but in Spanish the words secuestracion, secuestros [the kidnapped]and secuestradores [the kidnappers] are the terms most commonly used to discuss this). As with the kidnappings, there seem to be few who are well-trained enough to serve as marksmen or snipers, and gang killings (of other gangs or their own members) are often done with automatic weapons where the force and volume of bullets bring the same result as precision. When buses are attacked and people are killed randomly, it seems hard to ascertain whether these actions are done as part of planned gang violence or whether the gangs are grateful for the wannabes (who are ladrones) causing harm and inciting fear which is helpful to the gangs reign of terror. One of the Honduran presidents and some candidates who followed him have espoused the principle of mano duro (a hard or heavy hand), and many urge cero tolerancia (zero tolerance), but whenever the government has acted in this way, more random killings have occurred, including buses being stopped and many people massacred by thugs with automatic weapons. So the populace has grown wary of such policies, seeing them as provocative rather than protective. What is consistent is the lack of insight into the cause of these problems and a commitment to finding solutions to them. Professor Gaborit of the Univesidad de Centro America, has said, las maras son la expresion del malestar de una sociedad elitista, discriminadora y excluyente, una consecuencia de la falta de atencion de los gobiernos a los problemas la communidad. [ The gangs are the expression of the ill-being of an elitist, discriminating and exclusive society, a consequence of the lack of attention of the

4 government to the problems of the community. ] Clearly the root cause is the growing imbalance of wealth and poverty, and the ensuing lack of jobs, the difficulties in feeding, housing and educating one s family in the poorer households, and a decreasing societal cohesion at all levels. Further dimensions and what is currently being done Studies have been sponsored by a Swedish group for a United Nations commission for development, largely because the degree of crime and violence makes investments in such countries very unattractive. Businesses, governmental agencies and individuals do not want to invest their resources in a society where the chances of success, both return on their investments and the potential growth and stability of the venture, are very slim. Foreign executives do not want to live for a few years, with or without their families, in an environment where they are constantly at risk for being kidnapped or simply robbery targets where a nervous ladron might shoot his weapon. The cost of security and bribe monies add significantly to the cost of doing business. It is not clear at this point what more can be done to attract investments until the problems of gangs and gang-related crimes are solved or at least ameliorated. There is some cooperation among governments and governmental agencies. In March 2006, the second conference against gangs was held, involving 6,000 agents of the FBI, DEA, embassies and their foreign counterparts. I have not seen any publication of strategies and formal/informal networks which came out of that conference, but I imagine it would be counterproductive to publish such information. There is a hope that this cooperation will continue and that it will have some positive results some day. A significant issue in solving this problem will continue to be those police and antinarcotic agents who are members of the gangs and telegraph every move of these bodies to the gangs. In addition, many judges and court officers are either part of the gang system or are terrorized and terrified by it. A third complication is the lack of prison space to house any more criminals than are already there and the lack of any real security within the prisons; in some reports, prisoners are said to simply walk away. One day I read a newspaper article about a series of killings that had been directed by someone in prison from his cell phone! There is no such thing as maximum security in Honduras, and this may be true in neighboring countries. A little more on kidnappings The Secuestro Express is the term used to describe the retention of one or more persons for a short period of a few hours or days, during which the kidnappers demand money from the victims and their families for their liberation, usually between US $25,000-50,000. Statistics show that usually the ransom paid after negotiations is less than US$10,000. Sometimes the victim is taken to multiple ATMs and forced to withdraw money, or are asked to sell jewelry or other items of value. The widespread use of credit and bankcards contributes to the ease of this. The delinquents who engage in the ATM style are usually from the lower economic strata, and are usually between 17 and 25

5 years old. They operate in groups of two or three, one of whom acts as leader. Frequently these men have criminal records as adolescents, and many of them are drug-dependent. In some cases, the kidnappers are known by the victims, often working in restaurants they frequent or serving as porters in the buildings where they live. More often, these crimes are not well-planned, with the criminals walking the streets, parking lots, gas stations or commercial centers looking for someone well-dressed with significant amounts of jewelry, etc. The person is often thrown into the trunk of their car, and they drive around while making calls to the family to get them to pay a ransom. These crimes are committed in the least amount of time possible, with few plans for long-term maintenance of the victim, trying to complete the transaction within the same day. 90% of the Secuestro Express occur in the morning, 90% are women alone in a car. The criminals do not seek to cause harm, not wanting greater complications; they simply want to obtain cash in a rapid and secure manner. There are some related cases, such as false secuestros, when a young woman, with the help of friends, tries to extort money from her parents, and vengeful kidnappings of exwives/husbands, unfaithful lovers. The simulated secuestros almost always turn out badly. [Much of this last section was from a web-site.] [I hope this is enough background for all of you to get a sense of the types of crimes and the nature of gang life and structure. This next section is a brief summary of a series of articles that appeared during the week of February 25 in La Prensa, the largest daily newspaper in Honduras. It was written by Lisseth Garcia and photographed by Guilmor Garcia of that paper, after their extended visit to the US (mostly Atlanta, New Orleans and Houston) to do the research. Jose Luis and I met and spoke with them on the day we met with Fray Santiago. Note: their research did not indicate how people came to the US as immigrants, but clearly they suffer greatly not only the effects of poverty and uncertainty, but from crimes] Immigrants in the United States A few statistics: 50,000 Hondurenos seek visas each year from the US consulates to travel legally. 105,000 Hondurenos go to the US each year; some cross the border and others prolong their student visas. 110,000 Hondurenos benefited by the extension of the Permit of Temporary Migration Status, the third time that Hondurenos enjoyed this prerogative. 90% of the monies sent back to Honduras by Hondurenos living elsewhere come from the US (at least $2,561,000,000 in 2007). 6 out of every 10 Hondurenos have relatives in the US. Primary reasons for emigration from Honduras: lack of employment-46.2%; to better one s economic situation-16.2%; poverty of the country-13.3%; the economic situation of the country-10%; all other reasons less than 5%

6 Primary reasons for deportations from the US: those who commit crimes-20%; unclear-16.7%; undocumented- 14.8%; overpopulation (?) 14.3%; homeless 9.0%; do not work 5.7%; all other reasons less than 5%. Over 31% of Hondurenos think of emigrating to follow the American Dream; and 67% do not consider doing so (mostly those over age 51 and women in general). Over 76% of Hondurenos believe that money sent from the US is properly used by the recipients (but in actuality, that is not likely; rather it is used by many of the children whose fathers are away for faddish clothing, cell phones, fast foods, etc., because they have much less supervision). Many have improved their way of life by remodeling their homes, purchasing electric equipment for their cooking and cleaning. In the towns where they live there is no apparent change because there are no new businesses, and there is no government plan to capitalize on this bonanza of new money, even though it makes up about 26% of the Producto Interno Bruto (Gross Internal Product). Lisseth Garcia begins her series with the scene of an apartment full of people in mourning, saying that these immigrants have become blancos del crimen (targets of crime). There are many reasons for this, most of which the rest of our population does not readily think of because of the securities that come with citizenship or legal status. Most of the illegal immigrants not only work for substandard wages, risking getting caught by authorities as they wait for work at regular pick-up points, they are paid daily and carry money with them at all times, because without documentation they cannot open bank accounts; they pay high fees to send money home; pay high rents and live with many unrelated people in two and three bedroom apartments, sleeping two, three or four to a bed and in shifts (day/night) as well, unable, therefore to leave their money under the mattress as some of our less-than-trusting grandparents did during the Depression. It is common for immigrants to arrive in Laredo or elsewhere, their money for passage stolen, and needing to work as indentured servants for six months or more to pay the $3,000. dollars they owe. When they earn enough, they travel to other cities where there may be more work and a little less danger of discovery, Atlanta being the city mentioned most in the series. Even in such cities, they are often robbed, usually by other immigrants, often members of gangs. They cannot, of course, report these crimes for fear of discovery as illegal aliens themselves. The other face of the American dream is the crowded living in small apartments, often 15 to 16 unrelated immigrants per apartment, but they say that it is better to live like this than to have no work in their own country. 39% of the immigrants work in the US in some aspect of agriculture. In addition, they take jobs that no one else wants to do, not only janitorial but also clean-up that is dangerous to their own health. Women usually work as domestics. Some of the men work in construction or housing repairs. No one has insurance, social security, or any benefits beyond the normal (?) seven dollars per hour that they earn in the best jobs.

7 At this point I am going to conclude this little paper. There was an article regarding complaints against consular officials in some cities for not paying attention to those who came to them, much of which we have heard from Alan and others. There was a bit more on the immigration journey (which I could translate and/or summarize if you wish), and there was a little on deportation, both those who committed crimes and those who were simply caught without papers. In one article there is a reference to a ministry of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, headed by a monsignor, but little else is said about the Church s role in this, except to recognize the pastoral care in local situations and most congregations resistance to being agents of the US government. The attitude toward the church is not negative, and I am aware that there is a vast difference in congregations between acceptance and outright hostility. In talking with a good friend here in Minneapolis, Mr. Samuel Salas, a Chilean who is a long-time citizen and recently retired Headmaster of one of our schools, he recommended a book to me which I have just gotten and intend to read in the next couple of weeks, It is Enrique s Journey, by Sonia Nazario, 2006, which I found at Barnes and Noble in a $14.95 Random House Trade Paperback Edition (2007). The author won a Pulitzer Prize for her Los Angeles Times series on which the book is based. The subtitle is: The story of a boy s dangerous odyssey to reunite with his mother.