How The MS-13 Gang Actually Works | How Crime Works | Insider

Alex Sanchez is a former high-ranking member of MS-13. He became involved in the gang in the 1980s in Los Angeles and participated in its expansion.
Sanchez was deported to El Salvador in 1994 along with 4,000 other Salvadorans. There, he began to recruit young members into the gang. He was involved in robberies, street fights, and carjackings, and he survived being shot four times. Sanchez decided to leave MS-13 in the mid-1990s. He is now the executive director of Homies Unidos and is a violence-prevention worker and expert on gang culture.
He speaks with Business Insider about the Los Angeles Police Department, tattooing, rules and codes, media perception, and the political language used to depict the gang, such as Donald Trump's comments in 2018. Sanchez's story is profiled in the books "MS-13: The Making of America's Most Notorious Gang" and "Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas."
Find out more:
www.homiesunidos.org
/ homiesunidosla
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00:00 - Intro
00:23 - The Initiation
01:48 - The Weapons
03:19 - The Tattoos
04:19 - The Rivals
05:58 - The Rules
07:25 - The Culture
08:46 - Return to El Salvador
10:20 - Death Threats
12:55 - The Hierarchy
13:54 - Megajails
16:17 - The Expansion
17:33 - LAPD
20:18 - The Future of MS-13
21:54 - The Aftermath
24:19 - Credits
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How The MS-13 Gang Actually Works | How Crime Works | Insider

[@brocode5984]

The fact that I was watching your videos the other day and I said to myself “I wish they could interview someone from MS-13” and boom you uploaded one today 🤯

[@aaabbbccc1939]

I kinda hope they do an MS-13 interview from a an anti-gang taskforce. This guy has something deeply wrong with him.

[@smakdon9866]

Frequency illusion.. aka Baader-Meinhof phenomenon...

[@amh9494]

​@@smakdon9866 nar, he's the chosen one.

[@Insider]

Thanks for watching!

[@tobysemler]

@@amh9494 Mind=BLOWN!

[@naromngin]

i liked how they censored the eyes thinking nobody would recognize the full tattooed face

[@bigboi1004]

Nah that could be anyone's 7-Eleven tattoo (3:57)

[@popbigdaddy9422]

It’s for legal reasons

[@lordbeerus5722]

Glad you liked it

[@localmilfchaser6938]

@@bigboi1004😂😂😂

[@mrsenpaihd7485]

That wasn't a censorship though. It was literally a huge block of tattoo. Open eyes plis

[@derpimuss]

I got involved pretty heavy with MS Paint

[@efrainsanchez6788]

Damn. I already know you’re dangerous. 😮

[@10secondsrule]

It almost killed me.

[@ahmedp8009]

lol well played (or painted in this case)!

[@DeezyP]

Haha this made me laugh much harder than it should have 😂 🤣

[@azynkron]

Once you get hooked by those pixels, man.. It's difficult to get out.

[@Shawnmell]

Dude has such a friendly voice and demeanor for someone with such a hardened past

[@rahsunallah2825]

My parole officer says the same about me.

[@tracyminajjjj]

These are the men you should fear the most 💯

[@ashvio]

Goes to show most gang members are just regular people who are put in bad environments

[@michaelchallis4129]

Were you expecting him to be stabbing the video director?

[@Shawnmell]

@@michaelchallis4129 dude has such a irrational hostility and anger for someone with such a desire to reply to a random friendly comment

[@eddiegreencheez]

Spinoff series about the real danger they can face simply for doing these videos

[@FacitOmniaVoluntas.]

You gotta be the dullest knife in the drawer to think they’re talking about anything that could get them in trouble. Everything they’re saying is already public knowledge.

[@SEAZNDragon]

Michael Franzese is an ex-mobster who talks a lot about mob culture on KZbin. I saw a comment on one of his videos wondering how he’s able to talk so much and not get killed. Someone replied that a lot of the people Michael talked about were either killed or serving life sentences. The current mob is also not as strong as it used to be and it’s unlikely any of its current members know him personally. It also helps while Michael names drops he never says who does what crime. In a way it’s the same for these Insider crime videos. Most of the people who come on left their gang long ago and talk structure but don’t name names.

[@user-vy3tt8eb6t]

​@@FacitOmniaVoluntas.Ttty

[@capellozapellini6074]

Most of this info can be found elsewhere + most of them already fear for their lives if they left that life

[@garyhost354]

He still in the game. Gangs have pr wings now

[@CestSam]

El Salvador's murder rate when Bukele took over was 50.5, it's now 1.5 per 100k. It's working.

[@trhtkify]

W bukele , L ms13 and this bozo in the video, should have gotten locked up for life for attempted murder

[@MarkMcAllister-ni9sf]

These geniuses tattooed their gang affiliation to their face, pretty easy to catch them all.

[@milosummers2779]

it’s working but it’s also imprisoning a lot of innocent people without trial, and as long as you miss one or two gang members then the gang can keep recruiting. it’s not sustainable and it’s a human rights violation. stop praising it

[@ImCaveJohnson]

Bukele is a hero!

[@memeteam2016]

These people always cry about govt cracking down on their crimes because all their friends who are still criminals are gonna get caught up in it lol

[@Deonara]

MS 13 was born in California and came to El Salvador, not the other way around. Important fact!!!!

[@rowanjones1435]

MS13 is a notoriously brutal gang. I'm curious about how they feel (and the other gangs mentioned in this series) regarding an old member coming on and talking about the gang in such close detail. If it were me I wouldn't take my chances, but this man is clearly confident enough to appear on a popular show.

[@user-bm6xz6pq5z]

When you've seen as much stuff as that man you aren't afraid of violence. My neighborhood gets shootings weekly but kids aren't afraid to go play outside.

[@_Verde]

I think the vast majority of these people that come on here talk about things that aren't necessarily already known, but is public knowledge to anyone who's already interested in studying organized crime.

[@teresafan1]

⁠@@_Verdethats what I was thinking too! I related it to true crime you tubers, all of the information in their videos is just based on whatever research and googling they have done. So no one can come after them for talking about anything because its public knowledge for anyone who cares to find it.

[@admiralron3682]

Probably helps when you've been out of the gang for over thirty years lol

[@elcomandante901]

It’s frowned upon. I assure you .

[@ryanoak4736]

The murder rate in El Salvador has plummeted since mass incarceration, but it will be interesting to see how that unfolds.

[@Zzyzzyzzs]

Obviously it'll drop massively in the short term when you round up everyone currently involved and remove them, but if you then do nothing to solve the _reasons_ why people find joining gangs appealing (a way out of poverty, protecting themselves from crime and corrupt cops/politicians, the threats from drug cartels where you either join or they kill you) then nothing is going to stop new recruitment from happening and rates rising again. I'm not saying Bukele/El Salvador _isn't_ doing that; honestly El Salvador isn't a country I or many people think about very much. But the reason it isn't working in the USA is precisely because of the above. You have a culture that scapegoats immigrants, constantly tells Americans they're all criminals and inferior beings and mismanages the economy, giving people fewer pathways to a legitimate presence, then lock them up when they turn to crime and leave it to NGOs and underfunded departments to handle their rehabilitation, if any (easier to just deport them or have them rot in prison forever). At no point is the humanity of the person trapped in that cycle recognised, and the same is arguably true of mass incarceration anywhere. The tack currently is to just remove people from society, with no thought given to whether or not they might change or what situations landed them there in the first place. The US is the biggest economy in the region; the equivalent wealth of a single Elon Musk or even a Donald Trump could wipe out all the reasons the Americas are ensnared in gang crime and poverty overnight. But such solutions are harder to implement so few people are willing to do them and see them through. So yeah, lock them up if the immediate priority is to reduce the murder rate and restore some safety, but if you don't do anything long-term it'll be pointless.

[@amh9494]

Definitely shows bleeding heart bull doesn't work as well as harsh justice, they have a chance to break the cycle now.

[@christinet6336]

Yes… that’s the key. Eventually, someone else is going to get into office and it’s quite possible that they can be bribed by the cartels to go a different route. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the unfolds, indeed.

[@samuelmorgan6987]

@@amh9494 putting people in jail doesnt make them cease to exist. you think they're just gonna go away? you think they'll never get out? guards will never be able to be bribed or threatened? use your brain

[@MrNommerz]

@@amh9494 Thing is they have to come up with productive solutions afterwards or more people will fall into the same gang cycle anyways, or even more likely IMO is the police will become the new gangs and the government will slide into a dictatorial police state and then who knows what problems will come up after that. Still, I hope the best for them and that they are able to parry their current situation into lasting prosperity.

[@Alphadestrious]

Just came back from El Salvador, its pretty safe than before. Was able to actually go to lake ilopango and los chorros de la calera, which was always a no-go zone. I would have been killed if the maras "gangs" were still there. So mass incarceration has worked. The stories I hear that the gangs did, they totally deserve life in prison. the country is poor, but on the up and up, and tourism is better than ever.

[@jepulis6674]

Better yes but I hate fools thinking its perfect. That kind of power leads into all opposition getting locked up and killed in prison. Only a transition phase and acceptable but at that region its another loony dictator doing the same the gangs did. Give it 5 years.

[@handsomejerk]

Ahhhhh. Mass sweeps of people held without due process is good? You want your government to hold you without trial? You want a life sentence because your cousin is in a gang? I guess human rights aren’t your thing then.

[@willpatterson7125]

It's so funny they tried to say that mass incarceration doesn't work when El Salvador went from having the highest murder rate in the western hemisphere to now the second lowest (only canada has a lower rate.) The evidence is right in front of us.

[@Anthony-dk7de]

🎉

[@kameronjones7139]

Short-term yes but if the other problems aren't fixed then it will happen again

[@oswaldofuentes8625]

I disagree with some of the statements; El Salvador has never seen this dramatic, possitive turn ever.

[@kogn5338]

it was definitely necessary and a good first step but i think hes right in asking about the exit strategy. they need to pivot towards building the economy and solving the problems that cuased the gangs in the first place. otherwise it is just a never ending cycle. obviously that generation of criminals is not going to be saved but they need to think abt the future, rehibilitation and a transition out of the police state.

[@dominionphilosophy3698]

@@kogn5338of course, but he is part of the trouble if he thinks Bukele’s steps are not good.

[@zero213kt]

It's crazy. Growing up around the Koreatown and Pico-Union area, you see the gang members walking around or hanging around the neighborhood. It will be quiet at times but they always pop up again. Seeing these young kids trying to be the next generation, it's just sad

[@darthandeddeu]

Happens in all cuturalist gangs. ( Mafia , bikers, street gangs, etc )

[@whathell6t]

The irony is that the presence of those gangs can contain the homeless transient and vagrants, especially the ones with severe mental-illness.

[@beccaf262]

Happens with the gangs here in NZ too.

[@rodtack8420]

Honestly I believe their name which has 13 in it stands for the 13 satanic blood lines that secretly rule the world and control the illuminati. The lower levels might not know it, but their leadership takes orders from the intelligence agencies that run the drug trade. And those agencies themselves are enforcers of the deep state which is ran by said illuminati and 13 satanic blood lines. These blood lines are known as Satanic because they are human/alien hybrids with Reptilian blood in them. Also called the blood of the gods. Which is why they believe they have the divine right to rule due to blood. The Reptillian's themselves are negative and evil malicious beings, historically known as Demons. Alex J@nes talks about all of this among others.

[@amh9494]

​@@darthandeddeu some more than others. 😏

[@yoominji.]

8:35 I will never get over the hilarious irony of gang members committing the awful crimes they do while at the same time being covered in religious regalia.

[@laincake]

exactly!!

[@Leith_Crowther]

What’s ironic about that?

[@penguin350]

Same as the religious rapists at the Vatican I guess

[@dannydanumba2619]

@@Leith_Crowtherthey commit violent crimes and every sin in the book but still think they can call themselves “Christians”

[@spanishcastle7]

Hitler slaughtered more than 6 million Jews under the guise of religion. Is that funny to you?

[@hheellfire]

I think this dude still fosters some deep down loyalty for his gang. He should not be saying they don't rape and kill because they do.

[@efrainsanchez6788]

Likely for his own safety. You think gang members won’t see this video?

[@3asianassassin]

​they arent seeing this video, theyre in prisons and wont ever see the sun again if theres any justice in this world

[@cruisinguy6024]

I’ve heard that the gang was originally a lot different from what it is now in terms of brutality.

[@AshBuddha]

Probably also some cognitive dissonance. We know what they do, I’m sure he does as well.

[@user-fh4nw6ct9y]

Psyop

[@charliee5970]

14:47 Bro what? How are you gonna say that? El Salvadors murder rate has dropped ASTOUDINGLY since mass incarcerating gang members

[@trhtkify]

this dude is a bozo that got lucky they let him out of jail, should have been there for life for attempted murder, bukele should lock him up too

[@charliee5970]

@@trhtkify For real, dude is an idiot.

[@user-fh4nw6ct9y]

This is what gaslighting the public looks like.

[@CalaTec]

I won't put bad intention on his words, but he speaks as a person who lives in the USA and not in el Salvador. You have to ask people living there and how their lives have changed.

[@revlo1557]

Spot on!

[@42Oregon]

As a Salvadoran I really appreciate this video. I've visited once back in 2008 and I can't wait to visit again. Peace and love cuz.

[@alyssa01825]

my family and i just visited last week. the country felt extremely safe and bukele has done so much good to the country. i’m salvadorean too it was so nice to go back and feel safe😊 i recommend you to visit

[@BluemanitouParaon]

​@@alyssa01825 I used to bully kids like u after school who cares what u think

[@Insider]

Thanks for watching!

[@BigSwagThaLionTamer]

As at least one other guy mentioned, MS13 has a heavy presence in Northern VA and they're notorious for trafficking and violence right off the 95 corridor

[@christinet6336]

Wow… that was really good and informative. Thank you.

[@michele2716]

Thank you for this interview and for others like it. We need to learn from each other and work together to overcome these global challenges or things will continue to get harder, esp for the folks without tons of money and power. Wishing this guy and his family the best. To have gone through such things and make it through, fighting now to do good, that's amazing. For myself, i used to fight for good but I've gotten tired and lazy. If we all combine what stengths we have, we can, with those numbers, change things for the better.

[@Philthy.mcguyver310]

Mass incarceration can’t help anything 😂 why didn’t he talk about how El Salvador’s murder rate is down by 70 percent

[@AcesAndNates]

Because rational people think on orders of time longer than a year or two. Sort of helps with planning the provisioning of a state.

[@iippo06]

@@AcesAndNates Try decade or two like Singapore.

[@shayneb3540]

You didn’t listen to anything he said.

[@Philthy.mcguyver310]

@@shayneb3540 what didn’t I listen to

[@iippo06]

@@shayneb3540 If letting criminals, drug addicts & mentally ill people roam the streets of major Western cities for the past 60 years was a rational long term plan, then I'd hate to see what irrational short term planning looks like.

[@andrewshantz9136]

The statistics aren’t on his side regarding crime rates not going down. El Salvador has the 2nd lowest murder rate in the Americas. Only Canada has a lower rate.

[@Ricardo23228]

but you’re wrong brother El Salvador is safer now and California is a lot more dangerous now that they’re closing prison down.. and I live in LA and I spent half my life in prison and was a gang member so you can’t tell me I don’t know you have to have a gun in your home for home invasions and you cannot let your wife walk alone or your kids.. with Bukele as president I will take a vacation in El Salvador right now before that, I would never go over there

[@BelovedMilord]

MS-13 has a ridiculously high presence in VA & MD. Hearing these origin stories makes it even more crazy

[@prayalways]

These episodes have been spectacular ❤

[@neal.karn-jones]

My friend's brother was m-rdered by MS for not joining and he told me one of the problems is that when immigrants come here most stay in the same community they left but just here in the US. They think it makes things easier, but it also makes it easy for MS to keep the stranglehold they have on the community. They can get to you here or back where they came from so an immigrant may leave a bad situation and end up in another bad situation where those immigrant children face the terrible, and very real, choice of being a victim or joining MS. Like my friend's brother did in Hempstead, Long Island NY. I don't have a solution but one thing you can do is let immigrants know that it may seem easy for them to live in an immigrant neighborhood but they might be safer in a more integrated one and explain why. Especially for the safety and future of their children. This is not some far away place, this is here and we need to deal with it and stop making these gangs stronger.

[@Princess-im3wm]

There are material reasons why people join gangs. IMO if you want to stop gang violence, address those reasons (money, lack of family, lack of sense of belonging, etc) first

[@neal.karn-jones]

That's true but I am specifically talking about MS-13 and how it gets new members by giving immigrant children the choice to join or die. Lack of money, family, or belonging are minor compared to the choice of being murdered or joining.@@Princess-im3wm

[@rodtack8420]

@@Princess-im3wm There in lies the problem. Those that run the west WANT poverty so that the people that grow up in poverty are poor and controllable. It is all by design from the top down by the elites that run the west. These groups profit off of the suffering of the people who they see as nothing more then slaves or a resource. Problem - Reaction - Solution. The biggest irony is those that joins these gangs are serving the very people who are responsible for their misfortune to begin with and don't know it. Not much different then how Intelligence run state funded terrorist groups work and are used by the same ruling class. It is the same dynamic.

[@leok7193]

I'm a 1st gen immigrant. There are lots of reasons people stay in their cultural communities: 1: language - moving to a new country a lot of people don't speak English enough to just go about daily lives. Whether it's shopping, making friends, looking for work, entertainment, food - language can be a huge barrier 2: cost of living - most people coming to the US, don't have lucrative work opportunities or large savings. Immigrant communities are often cheaper to live in, because they're usually less desirable and affluent 3: community/culture - people with shared experiences and views just get along better. Whether it's common hobbies, ethnic cuisine, religion, etc - it is the things that we miss or still want in our lives that are often not available in a different area 4: family - most people coming here already have some family connection and want to be here for that reason, and for above reasons family is usually already living in an immigrant community. I'm sure there are more, but those are the biggest that come to mind. Sadly, that also means that whatever people experienced in their home country, often comes with them to the new, whether it's emphasis on education or violence or corruption...

[@neal.karn-jones]

I understand all the good reasons to stay in an immigrant community. I'm just pointing out a danger - losing your child to MS-13. If that's not a good reason to avoid it I don't know what is - and the danger is extremely real if you have a child about to be a teen or in their teens.@@leok7193

[@Abusemtex]

The mass incarseration in El Salvador has decreased the level of gang violence from unbearable to almost non existrant. What that person is saying is just wrong. Nevertheless he is right about a lot of prisoners being held unrightfully.

[@aaabbbccc1939]

isn't it based on tattoos, which you have to get after being initiated?

[@milominderbinder8655]

@@aaabbbccc1939 This seems to be a common question which I am curious as well about. I imagine the tattoos do play a significant part either formally or informally

[@WompWompWoooomp]

Yeah, dude kinda lost me when he said what El Salvador was doing wasn't going to work. The decrease in crime there has been nothing short of miraculous.

[@badbear11k]

It won't do any good locking up gang members when the root of social decay is corruption that breeds extreme poverty. El salvadors political class remains untouched . Nayib bukele is just doing victory laps so u sucker's can praise him .

[@djtomoy]

I was in MS-13 for a few years, it was a wonderful experience that really helped me build character, learn new skills and make some life long friends….oh wait that was the Boy Scouts not MS-13!! Silly me me 🙄

[@Ronnyking98]

I use to work with a guy who was part of ms13 OG but the things like this guy said and the OG told me damnnn…..

[@conradoabreu2984]

He’s very well spoken but he is definitely biased in favor of the gang and everything bukele is doing to gain control of El Salvador

[@LBfrom1900]

Learned a lot!

[@haroldibarra8009]

Nosotros los latinos de verdad apoyamos kas políticas de el presidente salvadoreño. Soy nicaragüense y tengo muchos amigos salvadoreños. Ellos si apoyan a su presidente

[@alexscoggins8066]

[Enlightening & insightful.]

[@KINGBUCK360]

I❤this channel, every video is a history lesson on what really goes on in other places in the world

[@Honeybee-cy9gc]

In '89 on Pico and Alvarado, I personally witnessed a MS gang member walking around with a machete like nothing in broad daylight. An armed security in one of the restaurants was scared of him. On another note, I learned about the death squad during my studies in college. The CJ department had a special speaker come talk to us about it. It was very interesting!

[@leok7193]

Buddy's delusional. He casually brushes over violence he participated in across multiple countries and with multiple convictions, but when people try to restore some semblance of civil society, whether in El Salvador or the US, he's the one being persecuted....

[@Charles-Darwin]

What's wild is you thinking you've figured it out, but what you should have experienced was a reality check. If you give it some thought, soldiers, police, trump have all done the same activities and seem to be able to present themselves on camera.

[@AG-yc7vt]

Exactly “It doesn’t work, it doesn’t work” But if you go to El Salvador Right now, everyone is happy and safe. No more organized crime, just regular crime like in most 1st world countries.

[@user-rl1px9sp4f]

​. There's more to it than just saying everyone is happy if you don't follow current events don't try to paint everyone under the same circumstances and situations becuase they're are definitely citizens who are struggling to prosper. Yes the gang and safety aspect of it is maintained better than before but that it is not the only problem there.

[@user-rl1px9sp4f]

​@@AG-yc7vt Plus you do realize that just becuase it's working now at the moment doesn't mean that there cant be a side effect to this rigth? I also think that what he meant was that mass incarceration doesn't help in the sense that you are just locking people up at some point people have to be let out thus is what you may be witnessing today in the U.S. with a rise in crime what are you going to do baby sit criminals for ever ? You realize that the people who benefit from all this are the prison industrial complex don't you ? But yet people love to complain about there taxes how funny. So that's why he saids mass incarceration isn't the answer. I find it funny how there's plenty of what he said but people want to focus on only that part and want to misconstrue what he said just to talk smack.

[@dustdevilmech]

I’ll be honest MS-13 and other El Salvador gangs cause me great anxiety and fear while I was deployed in El Salvador. I wasn’t able too really enjoy what I thought was a beautiful country filled with great people.

[@nerd26373]

We appreciate the insights shared in this video. They're filled with impactful lessons throughout.

[@Maspanget07]

Proud and commend you for sharing your life

[@Diabbie]

This guy is essentially doing PR work for MS-13 lol

[@SoulSonder26]

"What I'm doing now is trying to give back to the community that I used to take." No, dude, he's not. You just can only see him that way.

[@aaabbbccc1939]

@@SoulSonder26He's giving back to the community by trying to get gang members out of the successful prison policy. He's also willing to lie and paint MS-13 in a positive light so dumb sheltered kids think they are not that bad. He doesn't care about the community, he cares about MS13.

[@SpartanArmy117]

Yeah I hate to say it but he pretty much is. Basically he's saying you just lack context, that's why you don't like MS 13 lol. Also I'm sure he's being "targeted" because he has a tiny insignificant activist group and not because he's involved in some shady stuff.

[@jukeburtis7503]

@@SpartanArmy117isn’t context for gangs and criminals the point Of these videos? I mean he’s not “doing PR” in the sense the previous commenter said. It sounds like he’s just telling his story so people can understand it.

[@MasteredMagic]

I agree. I stopped listening when he said that the gang was “vulnerable “… you know who is vulnerable? The women and children the gang exploits. MS isn’t a Boy Scout troop. They aren’t just innocent do-gooder immigrants… the people on these gangs chose a lifestyle like this. Even if you can’t live by their motto, because you can’t r4p3 people, doesn’t mean the rest of their goals aren’t involved in the motto. I’m glad that dude is exposing police corruption, but to pretend like MS isn’t a group of criminals, who harm and exploit others, is just plain wrong.

[@Dark.One666]

Imagine fighting and killing one another for absolutely nothing. Sad and pathetic.

[@christhalowk3717]

Well of course everyone has a different outlook on that life, especially if you never were around that environment or structure of life

[@TheThedisliker]

People with nothing to loose are the most dangerous

[@scrappydoo4204]

You have to live it to understand it.

[@zoanth4]

Pretty much 99% of human history

[@1992CaliBoy]

The same was said about Vietnam and Iraq... Those veterans came back defeated and said it was a waste of blood. Gangs start on a good agenda and good cause as well and the people at the top turn it into a fight about money, isnt that the way politics in the real world works?..

[@bugsyred]

great interview

[@90210146]

My man, how can you sit there and say incarcerating these gang members in El Salvador hasn’t reduced violence? Look at the murder rate, it dropped significantly. Salvadorians were hostages in their own country.

[@Brainbaskit]

Yeah, except they traded violence from MS to violence from government sanctioned death squads or cops just murdering people in cold blood, not to mention torture, and if your neighbor doesn't like you, they drop a dime saying you are affiliated with the game, just like that you are whisked away for prison for life, no judge, jury or lawyer. You think this will last 😆 Here we go civil war again, or at least a coup, because as he astutely stated, the conditions that led to all this are not being addressed

[@jirehguy]

You completely twisted what he said

[@elkikex]

14:45 He said just that

[@johncenanewaccount4297]

@@jirehguy He said the incarceration wouldn't work and that it hasn't worked in the past. It is working.

[@jirehguy]

@@elkikex except you are hearing it how you want to hear it instead of listening to what he is saying. You heard him say a key word that triggered a response in your brain without anything other than a surface level understanding. Idk if you think standard arresting and mass incarceration are one in the same. Or if you just heard a key word and your brain stopped listening to everything else.

[@Kevin-mk6jo]

Lol unjustly he says... ask the population. There is a reason why bukele is VERY popular.

[@Woodsie_Lord]

Try saying something against him while living there, lol. Good luck dealing with another South American tyrannical government. You can't get rid of them as easily as gangs.

[@Kevin-mk6jo]

@Woodsie_Lord hmmmm if u don't live here... and experience the before.... your opinion means, zero. Concentrate in your own issues in your own country.

[@Woodsie_Lord]

@@Kevin-mk6joIt's a fact that government is always your number 1 enemy. You signed your rights off the moment you tolerate their dismissal. Learn some history instead of liking your own replies with no arguments whatsoever. Your situation is not unique. Personal experience is not necessary to form arguments and conclusions based on facts. Besides, guess what is the most common issue globally, people face every day? Corrupt, tyrannical etc. governments are always source of the issues. It's happening everywhere around you, yet you decide to ignore it and hope that this one man is special and always will be just, honorable etc.

[@unnaturalselection8330]

This Guy:"Putting us in jail doesn't work" El Salvador:"Lowest murder rate on the continent." This Guy:"...Well, putting us in jail hurts our feelings really bad."

[@shawnstarkET1SS]

Very interesting.

[@eliangiraldo671]

This dude seems sketchy to me. He definitely does not renounce the gang and seems to advocate for their activities as just another part of life and that he’s there when these people are ready to be law abiding citizens. Sounds dangerous.

[@pundah7084]

I always pray for these people's safety when these videos get uploaded.

[@stevieo9909]

Very interesting. Alex is well spoken and covered a lot here. . Great interview. Wish him all the success in the world and longevity. Here's a man actually trying to make a difference in the community. Much respect to Alex.

[@Atite_Lometen]

Are you joking cause this guy is true a psychopath, they created programs that creates alibi for them like the 14 yr old boy, this guys still works for the gang through his NGO homies unidos, is exacly what they used to do in El Salvador, you got church pastors being arrested cause they were still doing gang business while travelling as a pastors and they would created this NGO to put ex homies in them and make them look like they were legit. That is why is so important to put this animals in prison excommunicated from the outside world.

[@stonerguitarist4690]

Respect sir I changed my life going through the same thing

[@jamaljames2578]

Always watching from Georgetown Guyana south America 🇬🇾🇬🇾🇬🇾

[@MrAdal206]

I like how the the president built those mega jails and are giving a life sentence to gang members. This will eliminate gang culture and keeps the people safe. I wish we had that here in the United States.

[@milominderbinder8655]

We incarcerate more people per capita than any comparable western country. We have hard sentences for gang related violence and trafficking for decades. "I wish we had the here" we literally do except we still have a judicial process. The systemic issues of gang affiliation and violence will never change until we eliminate poverty. We could do this in the US but have chosen not to for 40 years while instead policy has lined the pockets of the wealthy and ultra wealthy

[@thanosmaster-abel559]

People would then just call racism instantly

[@wowmazin4399]

@@milominderbinder8655The reason we have high incarceration is because of the crime wave that started in the 1960s. We ended that crime wave by mass incarcerating criminals. Hard sentences for gang related violence and trafficking don't matter if you don't have enforcement. The systemic issue of gang affiliation and violence can be changed through mass incarceration. You lock up those who would impart genetic and sociocultural information onto the next generation so they can never reproduce. This is the same reasoning as abortion reducing crime. Also we have had programs to eliminate poverty like the Great Society which only ended up fracturing the black family structure.

[@PrezVeto]

​@@milominderbinder8655 Leftist drivel. Poverty is the default state of man. It doesn't cause crime. People choose crime when they see a lack of negative consequence for it when those around them commit it. If "gang affiliation and violence will never change until we eliminate poverty", then explain how the gang situation in El Salvador is now much better than that in the U.S. despite it having a poverty rate WAAAY higher.

[@ivettemaddi811]

President Buekele is the greatest thing to happen in El Salvador in a long time and how dare you criticize his policies that reduce the country’s murder rate to an all time low. He has made that country safer for everyone and was the reason I was able to visit family in El Salvador for the first time in my life. You don’t know anything about the country and I’m offended you have the gull to criticize him.

[@TennSeven]

The police in the US are the largest, most violent gang in existence. The part in the story about the Rampart scandal, and the realization of the fact that corrupt police will work diligently to wrongfully convict and/or deport innocent people is just infuriating.

[@oscarramirez6175]

This guy is defending los pandilleros what kind of crap is that

[@un0kev]

Nah fr bro Bukele has actually dropped crime with long sentences unlike previous politicians

[@oscarramirez6175]

Bukele is doing great

[@h1inc816]

@@un0kevhow is he any better than Putin and Xi?

[@user-fh4nw6ct9y]

We’ve been mass importing the prison population of other countries. Their own country don’t want them, they’ll be persecuted if they go back, which makes them asylum seekers. This video a psyop for the suckers. Don’t get caught slippin

[@aaabbbccc1939]

he may have left the gang life, but he still wants it to be a successful business. He's blatanely lying several times throughout the video to make it seem like nothing can be done about the gangs. He comes across as a complete psychopath if I'm being honest, would not be surprised at the crimes hes committed.

[@minkrobeII]

Damn this guy seems like if he was raised under better circumstances..his intelligence and ability to communicate would be so much more well served and beneficial to society..I'm glad he is no longer on that destructive path

[@aaabbbccc1939]

He is blatantly a psychopath.

[@DDMSakb48]

People he killed never got a second chance. lol

[@chinoecinos2963]

​@DDMSakb48 would you rather he's still out killing?

[@BluemanitouParaon]

​@@aaabbbccc1939coward

[@BluemanitouParaon]

​@@DDMSakb48cope

[@onelove8062]

My taxi driver in San Salvador said that although Bukele did clean up the streets, he's essentially striving for absolute political power as a dictator, and there is total disregard for the people and human rights, innocent people are being incarcerated too

[@jorgelinares9394]

FAKE NEWS!!

[@shadowslayer9988]

Would you like the gangs to be released onto the streets again I'm sure there form of government is SO much better.

[@apexhacker346]

I live in El Salvador if you don't do crime. You more than likely will not go to jail. If you do not associate with criminals you will not go to jail. It's simple math. 9/10 they have the right guy. Every country has had their fair share of innocent people locked up. It is not right but they I have seen El Salvador do more right by and for their people than any country so far. You don't get over 90% of the votes by the people for no reason

[@alyssa01825]

he’s absolutely incorrect. people are happy, safe, and free. praise God bukele is in office. el salvador is one of the safest countries in the americas

[@TONYKAZAKHNO1]

yeah dont care, everyones innocent huh

[@DavidDavis311]

Maybe we should think about stuff like this, ya know, like when we just let anyone into the country.

[@DJV94022]

Man..at this point it aint hispanics being the issue.hispanics been the issue since the 80s with the coke but the gringos are okay with it ..what the united states has problem is with middle easterns and russians..so yes the border has already slid those people by.they are just planning at this point

[@monchin9371]

Nice video

[@briccs]

bless the El Salvador president for dealing with these guys.

[@DontEvenTrip1]

The homie rebelde from Normandie Locos he old now hahaha we used kick it back then when we were kids right when MS was getting started at first we were called " Mara Stoners or Mara salvatrucha Stoners , MSS" then it became MSL Mara Salvatrucha Locos then when we got the 13 it became just MS Mara salvatrucha " i havent seen homeboy since the 90s. Rebelde if you ever read this Saludos homie im glad you are doing good.

[@mauroortega4633]

Good looking for the homie saludes HLS

[@williamwasilewski7925]

Thank you for sharing your story ❤️🙏🏼

[@kommunitykonnected]

Now you gotta interview a Death Squad member

[@Johnnybananass-_]

the exit strategy is make being in a gang look so bad and dangerous people wont join, nd its working the stats are dropping, good on the new leader of El Salvador

[@trhtkify]

mass incarceration failed, because you hear of stories like him, getting caught with a gun on a way to commit murder, just getting out of prison a couple years later, he should have been jailed for life or at least close to it. El salvador is jailing people that are in gangs so terrible that they deserve life purely by association

[@rodtack8420]

Those gangs are terrible because they are literally ran by the devil worshiping satanic families that control the west from behind the scenes. That drug money helps fund black budget secret projects and goes into the coffers of the already super rich elite at the top. Just watch Alex J@nes he talks about it.

[@Gangstermo_310]

Thanks for sharing your story. Keep on keeping on homeboy 💯. FTP

[@Queenofsole100]

My mom moved us out of D.C. during the crack era and into Langley Park, Md. If you know, you know. 💯😄

[@themysteriousfox3767]

Can you make a series like this but on cults?

[@kimemerson5732]

Wow... fascinating. You are a good man!

[@kr-yh4nj]

I remember in the 90s MS was causing havoc in Koreatown Their war MS vs 18st vs playboys Was spinning out of control

[@emerjay348]

Not the right person to give any type of answers, you should interview a guy before making a video and posting it on a big channel, his response to the CECOT is a complete bullocks and clearly shows affiliation with a gang that is a terrorist organisation- essentially you @Insider have become a handler for a gang affiliated person of a terrorist organisation.

[@jonny-b4954]

Uh huh, I rarely believe people like this when they say they reformed. It's just SOOO rare for someone to truly throw off their childhood learnings and who they are deep down.

[@user-fh4nw6ct9y]

You smell the BS too huh

[@maryyjanee247]

Very rarely people do change for the better

[@dominionphilosophy3698]

The man is lying openly. Cannot be trusted, no remorse at all.

[@watema3381]

Bro is a certified OG

[@hrfz10]

Believe it or not, this homie Alex Sanchez from Homies Unidos, came over to my house in Highland Park and sat at the couch. 😅

[@meganotofthisworld]

Poor innocent soul, he and his gangbangers. Not a single word of repentance and remorse, just, Oh, poor me, we are all just victims...

[@em34ev3r]

"His comparison between California's mass incarceration and that of El Salvador isn't accurate. El Salvador is curbing violence in the country, thanks to the president's harsh consequences for any involvement in gang activity. If you were to visit El Salvador now, it would be almost comparable to any vacation resort you might find in Mexico, but much safer!!

[@alyssa01825]

absolutely! incredible safe, just came back from a trip there. el salvador is one of the safest countries in the americas right now

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

Sure helps working with the ol' "Guilty until proven innocent" mentality, I'm sure you would never complain if the west was like that...

[@haleybee8938]

yeah except the ppl there have virtually no civil or constitutional rights and the police are arresting huge numbers of innocent people

[@em34ev3r]

@@haleybee8938 Over the top due process in the U.S. especially in CA. CA doesn't do anything to curb or reduce violence in the state, they give the criminals every opportunity to thrive and play the system.

[@haleybee8938]

@@em34ev3r that's not true- CA's violent crime rate is bad, and obviously that's not good, but states that have much harsher laws (i.e missouri, arkansas) have similar levels of violent crime, so clearly what CA "doesn't do to curb or reduce violence" isn't the main contributing factor

[@wayofthegrunt]

See metal music brings everyone together

[@t.michaelbodine4341]

"I was on my way to shoot somebody" isn't a sentence you hear people say too much. What a remarkable story.

[@ruthgatorbinzburg1876]

This guy feels like a propagandist for MS13. Calling a gang "vulnerable" Gtfo lol

[@user-fh4nw6ct9y]

Psyop.

[@BluemanitouParaon]

Cry

[@user-uy5ph7dh2z]

I grew up in Pico / Union area in LA getting harrased by CRASH UNIT from Rampart division all the time... I know first hand how Crime works in that area!

[@brendonl.4834]

This is an amazing interview

[@Kapon33]

My guy still about it and you can tell, you can leave it, but that pain to those you put pain to never leave your body mind and soul 🤘🏼

[@RcruzLA]

I’ve met Alex in real life and he’s a good dude

[@CC-kl4nh]

They still around in Arlington Va also.

[@1900CTCriminal]

WSNC To cuh

[@Philthy.mcguyver310]

This guys from the ms in Los Angeles

[@elliottfussell3523]

A polar bear

[@BigSwagThaLionTamer]

They run parts of Manassas and Manassas Park about 30 minutes away

[@Ucant.-fade_us]

I have a friend that killed 4 ms 13 and 3 18st in the USA . And his still out here hoping to find where they hang out . They killed his cousin in El Salvador and one of his brothers . His a scicario of Mara members . His like a pestilence that creeps in the night . When I look into his eyes 👀 I see the same as looking into a the eyes of a great white shark .🦈 no soul ,but we where raise together sense we where 2 yrs old .

[@BussinandDiscussin]

OK there are people who get angry about "unlawful incarcerations" but they won't even have responsibility for getting so bad that people feel the NEED to mass incarcerate and make people so afraid for their lives they pray every day someone will come in and save their neighborhoods.

[@RandBurgess]

Homie kept it all the way REAL

[@team_divorce]

Love this video but i gotta disagree but El Salvador was on its knees and him saying they arrested people unjustly is the gang member talking in him. At least thats what i think

[@user-fh4nw6ct9y]

This is how they control the narrative. you’re sensing something ain’t right here. But they are telling you to ignore your lying eyes.

[@user-fh4nw6ct9y]

They deleted my response to you bro. I said this is a paid actor and this is how they set the narrative they want, attempting to change your reality. Don’t let them, this is gaslighting.

[@BluemanitouParaon]

​@@user-fh4nw6ct9ystay mad dork

[@BluemanitouParaon]

U cowards are always begging for the government to save you

[@Philthy.mcguyver310]

Damn this guys from a crazy part of Los Angeles over there by Hoover and Normandie

[@1992CaliBoy]

That's where shatto park (shadow park 18st) is

[@Philthy.mcguyver310]

@@1992CaliBoy it’s not shadow park

[@vibehighshinebright3540]

Lived in Honduras most of my life, i can say MS13, Mara 18 and many more had our country in a choke hold. And r*pe, murder was their motto. Many of my neighbours lost their lives to these people. Kidnappings and so much more where common tactics.

[@pablotorres6997]

Blessings and my best wishes to you.

[@JesusIced]

film roller is obnoxious, you have VHS fkin effect used in your video, why not use slightly subtler "vhs" sound or at least balance the levels, its louder than it should be by any means guys

[@10secondsrule]

It’s annoying that’s true.

[@kill_all_orks]

Something feels off in this guy , the way he described his gang activities sound more prideful than with regret .

[@horseman217]

Because he is degenerate

[@SergioRodriguez-kh5uy]

I agree I was thinking the same thing

[@shayneb3540]

He said something to that effect at the beginning of the video. But it’s not pride. It’s acceptance.

[@1sttoro286]

He already knows he is walking a thin line because he said it.

[@aaabbbccc1939]

He is a psychopath, by the book. He definitely commit some evil crimes in his life.

[@TheUsername217]

Latino version of Uncle Iroh

[@JonathanBrandonBissoo]

Lol🔥⚡️👨🏻‍🎤👴🏻

[@abcdefghijfghij]

"Why are you going after the Fire Nation when those soldiers in that Earth Kingdom village Zuko visited were also bad? And remember when those other soldiers were going to crush my hands with a rock? I was just trying to help my nephew, and the Earth Kingdom put a target on my back. Poor me." - something Iroh never said

[@aaabbbccc1939]

uncle iroh was old and wise. This guy is old and a liar.

[@martinsloan3098]

Would love one of these from the perspective of one of the addicts that relied on gangs

[@yowfree3339]

God bless you sir...

[@trpbootan]

Maybe he has a bias because he was in the gang but El Salvador is way safer than before, can walk the streets now without fear. The violence has definitely been reduced because of the crackdown.

[@badbear11k]

Here's the thing will all u short sighted individuals is OK the gangs are gone now can u hold the government accountable for moving forward taking the people out of poverty ,illiteratecy, and corruption of the state. Gangs are a symptom not the cause of corruption now will all the people who are cheering the capture of gangmembers hold the government accountable for corruption in the same way. All I hear is crickets there

[@stonerguitarist4690]

Hey why be gang that's not kewl when ya Lock up and all alone have to fight for a sandwich

[@Slendazzz]

The dad lore would be crazy

[@aaabbbccc1939]

if he was a father he would probably just abandon his kid. He seems like a POS tbh

[@ChosenOne6666]

I grew up in L.A. he doesnt know what he is talking about.

[@sheliareiter4221]

this guy speaks with years of wisdom... I hope that he achieves his goals...

[@lv1543]

This guy is a con and wants his cockroaches on the street again

[@practicalandy1976]

The film noise is annoying