UPDATE September 17, 2010 SUR-13 Gang Members Lay Claim to South Beneva Rd in Sarasota Fl As They “Tag” Fences, Sarasota County Sheriff Dept. Gang Squad Needs to Be Aware.
Since its creation in California and Washington, DC, MS 13 has expanded into Oregon, Alaska, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida (SUR 13), Canada, and Mexico. MS 13 maintains active ties with MS members and factions in El Salvador. Mara Salvatrucha gang members maintain contact between groups in the United States and El Salvador for several specific reasons.
In El Salvador, a hand grenade sells for $1.00 to $2.00 U.S. dollars and an M-16 rifle will sell for approximately $200 U.S. dollars. The alliance to El Salvador and groups like La Mara and FMNL allows MS-13 to gain access to military-style munitions and establishes a network to traffic illegal firearms into the United States.
MS -13 is involved in exporting stolen U.S. cars to South America. The cars are often traded for drugs when dealing with cartels. An estimated 80% of the cars driven in El Salvador were stolen in the United States. Car theft is a lucrative business for MS 13. MS-13 or SUR-13 members have also been involved in burglaries (Sarasota and Manatee counties), auto thefts, narcotic sales, home invasion robberies, weapons smuggling, car jacking, extortion, murder, rape, witness intimidation, illegal firearm sales, car theft and aggravated assaults.
Common drugs sold by MS-13 members include cocaine, marijuana, heroin, crack, and methamphetamine. MS-13 gang members have even placed a “tax” on prostitutes and non-gang member drug dealers who are working in MS-13 turf.
MS-13 gangs now include members from Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, in addition to El Salvador. Mara Salvatrucha also has African-American members. Mara Salvatrucha members identify themselves with tattoos such as the number 13 or “Trece” in Spanish.
MS-13 gang members will also use the Spanish word “Sureno” (Southerner) to identify themselves. Sometimes Sureno is abbreviated to SUR (as in SUR-13). These terms make reference to the fact that MS gang members like to claim they are from Southern California as opposed to Northern California, and are rivals with Northern California gangs. Often, this rivalry is taken outside the state of California.
Additionally, MS-13 maintains rivalries with the 18th Street gang and the Latin Kings. There is also a good chance that the member will also have the name of his particular clique tattooed on his/her body. Other tattoos encountered with MS members have included pentagrams and other occult symbols. These can be confusing when found in conjunction with gang tattoos and can cause misconceptions of satanic involvement by the gang.
The most common hand sign used by MS-13 members is the letter M formed by using three fingers and pointing the hand downward. This hand sign can resemble the pitchfork sign used by Folk/People Nation gangs from the Midwest, and can be made with the fingers pointing up or down. The symbols used as tattoos are also used in graffiti and personal writings.
Generally, Mara Salvatrucha members (MS-13 0r SUR-13) show no fear of law enforcement. They are not easily intimidated and frequently act defiantly. Mara Salvaltrucha gang members have been responsible for the execution of three federal agents and numerous shootings of law enforcement officers across the country. MS-13 gang members have been known to booby-trap their drug stash houses using antipersonnel grenades on the assumption that these structures will be searched by law enforcement. MS-13 members at one time often bragged of assaulting law enforcement officers as a means of showing their loyalty and commitment to the gang, more from this source.
Undercover detectives videotaped gang members selling drugs. Patrol officers photographed their distinctive clothes and tattoos to document membership. And federal prosecutors put more than a dozen of them in prison for racketeering.
But amid all that pressure, gang members got wise — and headed south. Sur 13 members recently set upon Sarasota County, where their trademark blue bandannas and “13″ tattoos went largely unnoticed until they were charged with burglarizing rural homes east of Interstate 75.
Investigators busted that crime operation last week, but the break-ins provided evidence that there was a coordinated effort by an outside gang to infiltrate Sarasota County.
“They’re getting pressure from Manatee,” says Detective Gerardo Carrillo, a gang investigator from the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office. “And it’s only a short trip on I-75 for them to get to Sarasota.”
Police and sheriff’s agencies are seeking grants to form new anti-gang units, and some are working with state and federal prosecutors to build racketeering cases. The racketeering statute allows for stronger charges and stiffer prison terms for smaller crimes if authorities can prove long criminal histories or connections to organized gangs.
Sur 13 is the most violent and infamous gang in Manatee. Its members brazenly battle with rivals, Nortenos 14, in Oneco, Palmetto and east Bradenton. They caused community outrage in 2007, when 9-year-old Stacy Williams III was killed by stray bullets from a gunfight that involved Sur 13 members.
Since 2006, the county has landed 55 RICO indictments against documented gang members — from Sur 13, the Brown Pride Locos and Third Shift.In all, as many as 700 documented gang members operate in Manatee. A regional task force was developed, and detectives even scoured MySpace pages, where some gang members openly flaunt their allegiances, more from this source……………
Sur 13 Money made on the outside, such as revenues from trafficking, is taxed and distributed to gang members behind bars, who can use the money for privileges such as books, food, and prescription drugs. On the street, law enforcement and immigration security officials continue to use immigration laws and deportation as a method of removing members from the country.
While most members of the Sur 13 are of Latin descent, the gang may accept members from various other ethnic backgrounds. Above all, however, respect and loyalty are highly valued. According to a recent article by the Modesto Bee, the Sureños constitution includes phrases such as, “Thou shalt earn respect” and “Kill a Norteño, win a prize.” Big presence on MySpace with Latin Music, internet connected nationwide and international.
As a street gang in the United States, the Sur 13 (Surenos) exist in every major city and all states. Specifically, they have been reported in the following Florida cities:
- Fort Myers, Florida
- Lake Worth, Florida
- Lakewood, Florida
- Manatee County, Florida
- Miami, Florida
- Palm Beach, Florida
- Polk County, FL
- Sarasota, Florida
- I prefer Clint Eastwood’s solution for the Sur 13 problem;
