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Newsletter - August, 2005

 

August, 2005

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The Day Evil Met 
Jesus Christ


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The name Mara Salvatrucha means little to most Americans. But in Honduras, the name invokes fear in most people. Mara Salvatrucha is the name of the largest and most vicious gang in Honduras and throughout Central America. In fact, Mara Salvatrucha is also active in many parts of the United States—particularly in the Southwest and in the Washington D. C. area.

Two summers ago, the body of a young woman who had informed against her former gang associates was found on the banks of the Shenandoah River. She had been repeatedly stabbed and her head was nearly severed. Last May in Alexandria, Virginia, gang members armed with machetes hacked away at a member of a rival gang, slicing off some of his fingers and leaving others dangling by only a shred of skin. Only a week later in another Virginia city, a man was pumped full of .38-caliber bullets, while his female companion, who tried to flee, was shot in the back. The assailant, according to a witness, had a large tattoo emblazoned on his forehead. It read MS—short for Mara Salvatrucha!

Mara Salvatrucha got started in Los Angeles in the 1980s by El Salvadorans who were fleeing the civil war in their country. In the mean streets of the L.A. ghettos, Mexican gangs preyed on these El Salvadorans. The Salvadoran youth responded by forming a mara, or gang, composed of street-tough Salvadorans. The word salvatrucha is a nickname for Salvadorans. So the gang became known as Mara Salvatrucha. The number 13 is associated with Latin gangs in southern California, and so Mara Salvatrucha adopted “13" as their number as well. The gang is often known as MS-13, for short.

Over time, the gang’s ranks grew, adding former members of paramilitary death squads from El Salvador who had weapons training and a taste for atrocity. MS-13 eventually adopted a variety of rackets, from extortion to drug trafficking. In the 1990s, U. S. law enforcement agencies cracked down on MS-13 and deported planeloads of members back to Central America. Unfortunately, the deportees quickly created MS-13 outposts in El Salvador and neighboring countries like Honduras and Guatemala.2005-08-fuentes.jpg

MS-13 members typically have tattoos on most of their upper body, including the arms and face, to express their allegiance to Mara Salvatrucha. They nearly always bear the letters “MS” and the number “13.” Other tattoo marks include the letters “SUR” for sureño (southerner) and pentagrams. The ages of these gang members now range from age 11 to age 50. Those who join are expected to remain members for life, and anyone who leaves the gang is placed under sentence of death.

Carlos Sanchez came from a broken home and grew up in the streets of Comayagua, the capital of the state of Comayagua in Honduras. As a young man, he sought identity and security by joining Mara Salvatrucha. He quickly gained the reputation as the toughest and most vicious of the gang members in his state. He rose through the ranks of Mara Salvatrucha and eventually became the head of Mara Salvatrucha throughout the whole state of Comayagua. His brutality and utter lack of conscience earned him the nickname “Evil” by his fellow gang members.

However, the Honduran police finally caught up with Evil, and he was arrested and sentenced to the state prison in Comayagua for his crimes. Evil’s reputation was so widely known that even the other gang members in prison were afraid of him.  That was until the day that Evil met Jesus Christ.

Luis, one of the Society’s directors in Honduras, is from the city of Comayagua. He sometimes witnesses at the state prison there. One day last year, when he was at the prison, he witnessed to Evil and led him to surrender his life to Jesus. Evil (Carlos Sanchez) is now a strong Christian who boldly witnesses to other prisoners. Attempts have been made on his life by other gang members in prison, but the Lord has protected him each time. 2005-08-members.jpg

In Honduras, prisoners, to a large degree, have to support themselves while in prison. If they don’t have family (or gang members) providing for their needs, they have to come up with some way to earn money while in prison. Once Carlos left the gang and gave his life to Christ, the gang quit supporting him.

Carlos has considerable artistic ability, and so he started painting pictures on mirrors and selling them. Painted mirrors are popular among Hondurans, so Carlos has had no trouble selling his painted mirrors. The main thing he has lacked is the funding to purchase blank mirrors and paint. So in one of our most unusual sponsorships to date, the Society of the Good Shepherd has agreed to provide Carlos with funds to purchase the needed paint, mirrors, and other supplies. Please pray for God’s blessing on his new business—and for God’s protection on his life! Indeed, remarkable things happen when Evil comes face to face with Jesus Christ. DB

 



 



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