Donate

MS-13

A young man is detained by the police, a suspect in a homicide near a market in San Salvador, El Salvador

El Salvador declares state of emergency amid killings

Violence

El Salvador’s congress has granted President Nayib Bukele authority to declare a state of emergency amid gang-related killings over the weekend. The country saw a scale of violence that’s not been seen in many years.

Hundreds of inmates are shown wearing only underware and sitting crammed together in rows.

El Salvador lines up semi-naked gang members for grim prison photos

Justice
A group of migrants cross a shallow river and met with border agents in green uniforms.

Some Salvadoran migrants look to other nations for refuge as US tightens border

Immigration
Police stand along barricades while protesters hold signs about the MS-13 gang.

Trump threatens to cut aid to countries he claims send MS-13 members to US

Immigration
Prisoners flash the MS-13 Mara Salvatrucha street gang hand sign from inside a jail cell at a police station in San Salvador.

The ‘alien threat’ street gang MS-13 was actually made in the USA

Conflict
Tell us about your experience accessing The World

We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our website, theworld.org. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous). Thanks for your time!

Handwritten notations on a school resource officer's police report tagged Lemus as a member of the 18th Street gang.

On Nantucket, a teenage migrant gets swept up in a crackdown on Salvadoran gangs

Conflict

The teen and his advocates insist that he’s being swept up and threatened with deportation because of teenage bravado, rather than actual evidence.

Man in baseball cap, close up, sitting at table with microphone and other panelists.

The US government is targeting MS-13, but a former gang member says arrests alone won’t solve the problem

Justice

Luis Cardona works for Montgomery County in Maryland, walking a fine line to keep trust with young people in gangs and agents who sometimes arrest them.

We respect your time, attention and privacy

This is a news website, not a click casino. We do NOT employ deceptive behaviors, display annoying ads or use third party cookies and trackers to monetize your visit or help advertisers track you across the internet.

Simply, we ask that you would consider a donation to support the journalism we produce every weekday. Thank you.

This is The World

The World is a public radio program and podcast that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter.

Follow The World

Subscribe to The World’s Latest Edition podcast for free using your favorite podcast player: