LV police: MS-13 has 100 members

The MS-13 gang, known for cutting off victims' limbs, murder and drug trafficking, has about 100 members in Southern Nevada, but they're not as active as other gangs, authorities said Tuesday.

Questions about the gang, which has ties to Central America, have arisen after 24-year-old Jose Martinez, a Salvadoran, was kidnapped and found shot to death on Sunday. Martinez' family suspects he was killed by a MS-13 gang member. Martinez had the letters "MS" tattooed on his chest, relatives said.

"We have not seen them (MS-13 members) in large numbers here locally," said Las Vegas police Capt. Al Salinas, head of the department's gang unit.

MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, members make up a small percentage of the 8,000 known gang members in Southern Nevada, Salinas said.

Police said they were continuing to investigate Martinez' death and hadn't yet found his killers. Authorities are concerned that Martinez' death might spark retaliation.

Salinas said one reason MS-13 doesn't have a large presence might be the historic conflicts that the Salvadoran-based gang has with Mexican gang members, who are more active in Southern Nevada.

In the past two years, he said, MS-13 members have been involved in graffiti, a stabbing and a road rage incident.

Nationally, the gang is known for extorting immigrants and others, killing rivals and drug trafficking.

Brian Truchon, director of the FBI's MS-13 Task Force in Washington, estimated there are about 8,000 to 10,000 MS-13 members nationwide.

Truchon said MS-13 gang members are often found in states with rapidly growing immigrant populations, such as Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. He said MS-13 members are known to have day jobs in construction and other industries.

To crack down on the gang, the FBI is stationing two agents in El Salvador to work with Salvadoran police officials, Truchon said. The agents will be tracking ongoing investigations tied to the United States.

He said the FBI hopes to place agents in Guatemala and Honduras because MS-13 members are in those countries.