NEW YORK — State Secretary Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday that the Barrio 18 gang was getting the terrorist designation.
The gang, also known as Mara 18, was founded by migrants in Los Angeles and joins a list that includes its Central American rival, Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.
“Barrio 18 is one of the largest gangs in our hemisphere and has conducted attacks against security personnel, public officials, and civilians in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras,” Rubio wrote in a statement.
The foreign terrorist designation also includes Mexican drug cartels Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación.
During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, President Donald Trump said he was grateful to El Salvador for holding the terrorists at a prison, known in Spanish as Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or CECOT.
" Today’s action taken by the State Department further demonstrates the Trump Administration’s unwavering commitment to dismantling cartels and gangs and ensuring the safety of the American people," Rubio said.
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Last year, nine Barrio 18 gang members pleaded guilty to federal charges related to a racketeering conspiracy in New York that was connected to crimes in Texas, New York, and El Salvador. The crimes included the murder of a 15-year-old boy in 2016 for allegedly disrespecting gang members in Hempstead.
In 2016, the FBI reported that the “bloodthirsty” transnational gang recruited teenage boys who had an initiation that lasted at least two years, and a murder was required to join the gang.
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