Many Salvadoran gang members grew up in the United States, where their families had fled to avoid the war. Deported for committing crimes, many are sneaking back into the United States bringing in even higher levels of violence, including machete attacks, U.S. authorities say.
U.S. law enforcement officials are working with their Salvadoran counterparts to find solutions. A delegation visited recently and praised the Salvadoran police's anti-gang efforts.
Freddy Monterosa has already had a tattoo removed from his arm. He's having still others removed because employers won't hire him with them.
(Photos Luis Romero -- AP)
|
|
"From the top on down, you can see they are really focusing on this," said Tom Freeman, executive officer for the sheriff's department in California's Riverside County.
Salvadoran police took members of the U.S. group, which included Homeland Security and FBI officials, on a raid targeting gang members suspected of homicide. Those detained had to remove their shirts and pull up their pant legs so that U.S. officials could compare their tattoos with those they see at home.
One suspect chatted easily with police, describing his gang and showing off a tattoo of singer-actress Jennifer Lopez on his lower leg.
Former and current gang members complain that police take them into custody simply for having tattoos, sometimes forcing them to take off their clothes to reveal hidden body art.
Geovany Hernandez, who gave up gang life after being deported to El Salvador after a lifetime in California, says that has happened to him several times.
Hernandez still has faded gang lettering on the back of his shaved head and the remains of the letters "LA," for Los Angeles, on his arm. But he said he was having them removed when he was stopped by police and threatened with a gun.
"There's a lot of discrimination here," he said. "People, they are really scared of you when they see you with tattoos. It's not like the States."
