SALVADORAN GANG IN IOWA TIED TO CRIMES, DRUG ACTIVITY

'MS13' Has Become A Player In The State's Big-Money Meth Trade

Law enforcement authorities say immigrants from El Salvador have become
increasingly involved in serious crimes in Iowa, including drug trafficking.

They also are more often becoming victims of violent crime.

Some of the immigrants have ties to the violent Salvadoran Mara Salvatrucha
13 or "MS13" gang - born of a culture hardened by years of civil war that
ended in 1992. Since then MS13 has emerged as a player in central Iowa's
lucrative methamphetamine trade.

Authorities say Salvadorans are just one group of Latino immigrants
involved in rising gang activity around the state.

In the past several months, though:

* Salvadorans who had applied for political asylum are suspects in the
seizure of $1.3 million and 10 pounds of methamphetamine from a Des Moines
home last month. The cash seizure is the largest in Iowa history.

* A Salvadoran immigrant was the victim of an execution slaying last
summer. The Des Moines man's body was dumped along Interstate Highway 35 in
Story County.

* Two Salvadorans arrested in Muscatine will be deported after being
convicted this month on federal gang-related charges.

Des Moines police officials say they began noticing a Salvadoran gang
influence in 1999 when narcotics officers arrested several members of the
Mara Salvatrucha 13, a criminal enterprise that grew out of political
unrest in El Salvador. The members were arrested with more than a pound of
meth, police said.

Mara Salvatrucha means "Forever Salvador" and 13 symbolizes the letter "M,"
the 13th letter of the alphabet. Drug agents say that MS13 is affiliated
with the Southern California Mexican Mafia. Other gangs use the numeral 13
to symbolize their connection to Southern California.

Mark Hein, Iowa's resident agent in charge with the Drug Enforcement
Administration, said Mara Salvatrucha 13 gang members have been the subject
of investigations by his agency. In the past two years, Hein said, the drug
agency has found an increasing number of Salvadorans involved in drug
trafficking.

"I think if we went back and looked at those statistics today, there would
be more individuals we have arrested from El Salvador for drug
trafficking," he said.

Hein said the four immigrants from El Salvador arrested last month in Des
Moines in connection with the largest single seizure of cash in an Iowa
drug case were not members of a gang.

Federal authorities seized the $1.3 million in cash and 10 pounds of meth
from a rented house on March 28. Hein said he doesn't know whether the
Salvadorans planned to distribute the drugs to local gangs, such as Mara
Salvatrucha 13.

"I don't know if this particular organization was supplying MS13 gang
members," he said.

He said he didn't know what is attracting more Salvadorans to Iowa and the
Midwest.

"If we could answer that question, we could solve this problem," Hein said.
"We have such a large methamphetamine user population in Iowa that taking
10 pounds off the street is very significant, but that's not solving the
problem. To solve the problem, we have to have people stop using."

Authorities also are continuing to investigate the death of Juan Baires,
21, who was shot in the head at a Des Moines home in late July. State
workers found his body along Interstate Highway 35 south of Story City a
few days later.

Des Moines police Lt. Tom Trimble, commander of the vice narcotics unit,
said not all Latino gangs are involved in the distribution of drugs.

Trimble said that oftentimes a surge in arrests of a particular group is
the result of a major drug arrest.

"Almost inevitably if you make an arrest of any magnitude of a drug dealer,
they are going to lead you to a series of arrests and seizures," he said.
"When you're under arrest and facing life in prison, there's a lot of
pressure and leverage to try to make yourself better in the court's eyes."

Muscatine police Capt. Mike Scott said his department works hard to remove
the hierarchy of the gangs in the city.

"We pretty much know what gangs are in our town," he said. "We're lucky in
that we're smaller. If we get a new face in town, we know them."

The trial involving two Salvadoran brothers accused of being connected with
a Latin King gang stabbing in September 2001 created tension among the
Latino gangs in Muscatine, Scott said. The brothers were convicted of
assault and criminal gang participation and face deportation.

Scott said the Latino gang problem in Muscatine is unfortunate.

"We have a large Latino community," he said. "That population is
predominantly productive for our community. Unfortunately, with the good
comes the bad."

In contrast with Latino gangs in larger cities, Latino gangs in Muscatine
recruit members from other races.

"We've seen white kids and black kids in the gangs," Scott said. "I think
it's because of our area and the need to have people involved."

Des Moines police Officer Mike Stueckrath said his department has a good
handle on the gangs in Des Moines. He said they read the graffiti on
bridges and underpasses to find out which gangs are present and which gangs
are rivals.

"The graffiti is like the newspaper of the streets," he said.

Stueckrath said members of Mara Salvatrucha 13 are present in the Des
Moines area, but authorities do not know how many members are here.