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The Mara Salvatrucha gang originated in Los Angeles and has spread to Central America, other parts of the [United States], and Canada. It is commonly abbreviated as MS, Mara, and MS-13. There is some dispute about the etymology of the name. The most common belief is that the word "Mara" refers to the Spanish word for "gang", and "Salvatrucha" (which is Spanish slang) for "Salvadoran army ant". Alternatively, it is suggested that "Salvatrucha" refers to the Salvadoran peasant guerrillas, the source of much of the gang's early manpower. The number 13 is homage to the Los Angeles gang "Los Emes" or "The Ms"(M being the thirteenth letter of the alphabet). The gang was set up in Los Angeles in 1980's by Salvadoran immigrants in the city's Pico-Union neighborhood. The majority of the gang is ethnically composed of Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans. Their activities have caught the eye of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who in September 2005 initiated wide-scale raids against suspected gang members, netting 660 arrests across United States. ICE efforts were at first directed towards MS-13, in its Operation [Community Shield]. In May 2005, ICE expanded Operation [Community Shield] to include all transnational organized crime groups and prison gangs. ICE's Operation [Community Shield] has since arrested 7,655 street gang members.

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