MS-13 is the most malignant element of a growing Latino gang problem in Charlotte. Back when Jorge was “jumped in,” Hispanic gangs were barely a blip on local law-enforcement’s radar. Today they’re seen as the most violent of the city’s gangs, suspected in seven of the nine gang-related homicides this year (out of 59 total). They’ve surfaced in the wake of an immigration wave that swelled the number of North Carolina’s Latinos–the overwhelming majority of whom are hard-working strivers chasing jobs in fields like construction–by nearly 400 percent in the 1990s, the highest rate of any state. Numerous other pockets nationwide–Fairfax County, Va., and Gwinnett County, Ga.–have witnessed similar trends. As in most places, Charlotte’s cops must contend with a panoply of groups, from the white Outlaws motorcycle gang to the mostly black Kings. But for now at least, Hispanic gangs have seized center stage.
Signs of their arrival began showing up three years ago. Officials noticed the proliferating graffiti, the kids sporting gang colors, the school soccer pictures showing boys flashing hand signs. Then, this past April, the cops received a jolt–a shootout among MS-13 rivals that left one dead and six injured, and a few days later, the discovery of the corpses of two members of the 42d Street Little Criminals, a Latino MS-13 rival. (Most violence is intra-Hispanic, often pitting Mexican gangs against Central American ones.)
That gory week galvanized authorities. Police had already begun boosting the ranks of Spanish-speaking officers (though there’s still a shortage) and educating themselves in the culture of Latino groups like MS-13–a gang formed in Los Angeles in the 1980s by guerrillas and refugees fleeing the civil war in El Salvador. But such gangs remained closeted in communities full of undocumented immigrants scared of speaking to authorities. So in June the cops formed a five-person gang-intelligence unit to maintain a database of gang members and to push information out to officers. The Feds have ratcheted up their gang work as well. Agencies like the FBI and ATF meet regularly with local police to share intelligence. Last month the U.S. attorney in Charlotte announced the formation of a new gang unit. Authorities have also wielded federal immigration laws. In October a multi-agency task force launched “Operation Fed Up,” rounding up 64 suspected gang members–mostly MS-13–62 of whom were undocumented and placed in deportation proceedings.
Such tactics worry Latino leaders in Charlotte. Though they understand the need to combat gangs aggressively, many fear that immigration raids will unfairly sweep up innocent people and stigmatize the Latino community in an area already rife with racial tension. At a meeting with community leaders two weeks ago, the cops stressed that they’re targeting gang members, not law-abiding Latinos. Then they announced a community-based pilot project aimed at gang prevention and intervention–the sort of program that might have kept Jorge from joining MS-13. Last year he deserted the gang–an unpardonable act–and has been dodging attempted hits ever since. “The worst thing the police department could do is underestimate these guys,” he says. “It could get out of hand so fast.” He should know.
