The gang is also engaged in drug trade. MS-13 is found to follow a ritual of paying respect to the dead members in El Salvador under the influence of Marijuana. 6.

             The members joining are made to jump by the gang for 13 seconds. Many of the rivalries and threats to the gang prevail at present. The group 'Sombra Negra death squad' has promised to eliminate the MS-13 gang. The Sombra Negra appears to be the unofficial vigilante group constituted by Police and Soldiers in El Salvador. Sombra Negra finds out and executes all kinds of criminals including the MS-13 members. The recent developments inside the gang include quitting up of Ernesto Smokey Miranda, a co-founder of the MS in Los Angeles, who is committed to assist the children staying out of the gangs. The US Department of Justice in March 2005 declared a crackdown on MS-13 arresting about 103 individuals alleged to be the MS-13 members spread over seven cities. The 18th Street gang members are considered to the chief rival of the MS-13 gang in El Salvador. US Homeland Security found the gangs to be the greatest threat to the homeland security and considered to be an emergent priority for legal enforcement. Accordingly, the Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents detained 1057 gang members, 582 of whom appear to be the members of MS-13 gangs. In September 2005 a collaborative effort from the government agents from United States, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico generated arrests of about 660 members of the MS-13. 7 .

             In the month of January '06 the US Customs and Border Protection's -- CBP Border Patrol detained five Mara Savatrucha or MS-13 gang members in five different law enforcement missions in Rio Grande Valley Sector. The US Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security accountable for management, regulation and protection of the national borders at and between the official ports of entry.