US embassy cable - 05TEGUCIGALPA261

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TEGUCIGALPA 000261 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CEN, WHA/PPC, DRL/PHD, AND DS 
STATE FOR INL, INL/LP, INR/I, INR/C, INR/AN/IAA, EB, AND CA 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN AND DCHA/DG/ROL 
DEA FOR NTRM/BERGMANN 
DOJ FOR NDIC/ORGANIZED CRIME AND VIOLENCE UNIT (LCASALE) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PINR, PGOV, SNAR, SOCI, PHUM, SMIG, ASEC, HO 
SUBJECT: GANGS IN HONDURAS - MARA 18, MARA SALVATRUCHA, THE 
"WAR TAX," AND CHALLENGES FOR GOH (C-CN4-00878) 
 
REF: A. 04 TEGUCIGALPA 2874 
     B. 04 TEGUCIGALPA 2841 
     C. 04 STATE 227915 
     D. 04 TEGUCIGALPA 1843 AND PREVIOUS 
     E. 04 SAN SALVADOR 2232 
 
1. (U) The following cable builds on previous Post reporting 
on gangs with an eye on the differences and similarities 
between the two major gangs (Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha), 
the "war tax" gangs impose, and the challenges Honduras faces 
in confronting gangs. 
 
War on Gangs 
------------ 
 
2. (SBU) The National Program of Prevention, Rehabilitation, 
and Reinsertion, an NGO specializing in gang activity, 
reports that there are an estimated 489 separate gang groups 
(cliques) in Honduras.  Although most form part of the two 
major gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) and the Mara Dieciocho 
(Mara 18), there are a number of other organized crime groups 
to which these smaller cliques belong.  An open question is 
whether all these groups are actively pursuing criminal 
activities.  While the police, led by Minister of Public 
Security (MOPS) Oscar Alvarez, believe that there are 
30-40,000 criminal gang members and 70,000 sympathizers 
(indirectly connected with their activities), NGOs and other 
humanitarian-based programs within and outside the country 
paint a different picture.  Save The Children UK, for 
instance, has said that there are only 5,000 gang members who 
actively participate in criminal activity, but agree that 
there are many more who claim allegiance but do not 
participate in criminal activities.  (Comment: MOPS Alvarez 
admitted that there might be as few as 3,000 hard-core 
members in a recent meeting with a visiting U.S. official. 
End Comment.) 
 
3. (SBU) Post believes that the number lies somewhere in 
between, but the great disparity between public and private 
estimates raises doubts as to the veracity of public 
information circulating regarding gangs and their activities. 
 Post believes that gangs in Honduras are growing, morphing, 
diversifying, and becoming more powerful.  The recent decline 
in gang-related crime (notwithstanding the December 23, 2004, 
bus massacre allegedly committed by MS - see ref A) is due in 
part to the anti-gang law but is likely only a temporary and 
unsustainable fix for the problem. 
 
4. (U) Gang news floods the local newspapers and television 
constantly, creating a continuous surge of public fear and 
demand for hard-line government intervention.  Social service 
providers decry this demonization of the problem.  However, 
to be sure, it is a war.  A number of facts support this 
belief: 1) according to the Honduran government, from 
January-October 2004, 1,165 gang members had been arrested 
(with charges filed against 930 and charges dropped against 
235) under the anti-gang law; 2) numerous police officers and 
gang members have been killed in confrontations between the 
two groups (reliable current statistics are not available), 
3) 68 Mara 18 gang members were shot, beaten, or burned to 
death at the El Porvenir prison outside of Ceiba in April 
2003, 4) 107 Mara Salvatrucha gang members died in May 2004 
in a fire in the San Pedro Sula prison, and 5) 28 people were 
massacred on a bus in San Pedro Sula on December 23, 2004, 
allegedly by the Mara Salvatrucha. 
 
How the Gangs Operate/Organize 
------------------------------ 
 
5. (U) To understand the gang phenomenon in Honduras, one 
must first be familiar with some distinctions between the two 
major gangs, Mara 18 and MS.  Sources have reported that once 
or twice a year high-level leaders will convene in San 
Salvador or other Central American cities to hold meetings to 
identify policies and goals, and plan missions.  It appears 
as if all the high-level decisions in Honduras emanate from 
the major penitentiaries, where tattooed, hard-faced gang 
warlords whisper orders to messengers outside the prison 
walls.  Recently, it was discovered that Mara 18 even has a 
web page that explains the general gang philosophy and 
recruitment process.  Another example of Mara 18's 
organizational reach is its push for representation in the 
courts.  A Honduran newspaper reported in late September 2004 
that Mara 18 was allegedly sponsoring the education of 20 law 
professionals in the National University of Honduras (UNAH), 
who were apparently sympathizers of the gang. 
 
Mara 18 
------- 
 
6. (U) Mara 18 has managed to recruit a female contingent 
into their ranks, which serves very specific roles in the 
gang's business; jobs for which they are particularly 
well-suited and camouflaged include the collection of "war 
tax" (see below for details), according to interviews by 
EmbOffs with former gang members in rehabilitation programs. 
Women also find themselves exploited sexually within the 
highly patriarchal and chauvinistic culture of Mara 18, 
which, in comparison to Mara Salvatrucha, is more pronounced. 
 Mara 18 is by and large the more regimented, regulated, and 
structured of the two gangs.  The result of this structure is 
a more efficient, though smaller, organization than the MS, 
making them able to coordinate more complex missions with 
higher stakes. 
 
7. (U) In December 2004, for instance, Mara 18 was able to 
infiltrate a public hospital and extract a wounded comrade 
who had been captured the day before by police.  Gang members 
used disguises and a well-researched plan to carry out the 
mission, killing two police officers in the process.  Their 
leader, "el Siniestro," who has been connected by police to 
three other high-level killings, including the assassination 
of a congressional primary candidate, was the alleged 
mastermind of this plot.  Despite close encounters, he has 
managed to evade capture, often using well-timed pick-ups and 
pre-designed escape routes.  Post believes the organizational 
potential of Mara 18 to be strong and growing stronger, 
especially as a result of the new anti-gang law, which has 
forced the gangs to adapt to a more clandestine, 
military-like protocol. 
 
Mara Salvatrucha 
---------------- 
 
8. (U) Mara Salvatrucha, on the other hand, draws its 
strength from different characteristics.  On the whole, MS is 
more flexible and spontaneous.  One possible reason for their 
greater numbers is their less stringent recruiting and 
initiation processes.  MS is composed of smaller, more mobile 
groups that fall within a less rigid structure than Mara 18, 
according to former MS members.  In other words, there is 
less bureaucracy.  As a result of each clique's geographic 
mobility and independence, they are far more prone to the 
whims of each leader.  For these reasons, MS has a greater 
proclivity towards random violence and other unpredictable 
actions (such as the bus massacre).  However, Post notes that 
major MS activities are still decided by incarcerated gang 
leaders and, much like the Mara 18, MS utilizes female 
sympathizers and gang members to run messages in between the 
prison and respective gang territories throughout Honduras, 
but principally in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. 
Gang "Missions" and the War Tax 
------------------------------- 
 
9. (U) Orders descend from the higher levels of the gang 
hierarchy all the way to the bottom, where for the new 
recruits, these orders convert into "missions," or daily 
tasks.  One such daily task for those at the bottom is the 
collection of the "war tax."  This represents one of the 
biggest forms of gang revenue in Honduras.  The tax is around 
150-250 lempiras ($8-14) per day and is collected from taxis, 
buses, convenience stores, pedestrians, delivery trucks, and 
anyone or anything else that happens to be in or pass through 
gang territory.  Lamentably, gangs have even infiltrated 
local public schools, where they collect the tax from young 
schoolchildren with already scarce resources. 
 
10. (U) For those who faithfully pay their daily gang toll, 
the gangs theoretically offer security and well being.  In 
response to those that evade this "war tax," the gangs often 
use death threats.  Judging from the number of bus driver 
murders, this is a serious threat.  Each member of the gang 
will work a particular area all day, collecting this tax and 
noting violators.  At the end of the day, the gang members 
convene to count and store the proceeds.  There are a couple 
of variations to the collection of this tax.  In some areas, 
gangs force young boys who are not members of the gang to 
collect the taxes on behalf of the gang.  Boys are threatened 
with death if they refuse this task.  Female gang members are 
also increasingly used as tax collectors.  In a recent 
investigation by a reporter, it was found that one gang 
operated with a monthly budget of over 66,000 lempiras 
($3,850) solely from tax collections, significant given the 
relatively low cost of living in Honduras. 
 
What is done with the money? 
---------------------------- 
 
11. (U) Gangs use the money, first and foremost, to 
facilitate their drug dealing.  With larger budgets, gangs 
are able to buy more drugs and sell more drugs.  As a result, 
both personal drug use and involvement in the drug trade has 
drastically increased.  The gangs also use the money to 
sustain their fellow "homies" incarcerated in Honduras' 
various jails.  This transfer is facilitated by the many 
gangs that operate near penitentiary walls, acting as 
middlemen.  In addition, the money is used to finance the 
mobilization of gang members, either to go on missions 
throughout Honduras or Central America or to promote the 
spread of gang membership by moving to new, more rural areas, 
a tactic that is contributing to increasing violence in rural 
areas.  Rural areas are relatively absent of police presence, 
and thus particularly susceptible to being overtaken by gangs. 
 
Gangs a Key Political Issue 
--------------------------- 
 
12. (SBU) Comment:  The war on gangs has become a key 
political issue in the lead-up to the February 20 national 
primary elections, particularly in the Nationalist Party 
Presidential Race.  The bus massacre, the MS' alleged 
responsibility, and the GOH and Congress' rapid tough 
response (including expedited consideration of pending penal 
code reforms affecting gang-related crimes), appears to have 
benefited President of Congress Porfirio "Pepe Lobo.  Lobo, 
who has long trailed Tegucigalpa Mayor Miguel Pastor, drew 
even with Pastor in a January 28-29 private poll conducted 
nationally by a reputable polling firm (septel).  End Comment. 
Palmer