Brand power in Honduras: Lesser known gangs claim affiliation to infamous 'maras'

Honduras warns that some criminal groups have claimed to be affiliated with feared 'mara' gangs in order to intimidate their victims. There are reports of similar 'cartel impersonators' in Mexico, too.

By Geoffrey Ramsey,?InSight Crime / November 7, 2012

An imprisoned 18th Street 'mara' gang member in Quezaltepeque, El Salvador.

Luis Romero/AP

Enlarge

? InSight Crime researches, analyzes, and investigates organized crime in the Americas. Find all of Geoffrey Ramsey's research here.

Skip to next paragraph

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Honduras' anti-extortion task force warned of cases of crime syndicates claiming to be affiliated with "mara" gangs in order to intimidate their victims, an indication of the fear associated with street gangs in the country.

In a Nov. 5 press conference the deputy director of the Interior Ministry's anti-extortion task force, Arturo Sandoval, said that organized criminal groups have been conducting extortion rackets by falsely invoking the names of street gangs. Sandoval said that his office has recorded several such cases since its creation in April,?reported La Tribuna.

The official added that so?far in 2012 his office had received 580 complaints of extortion, up from just 14 complaints in 2010 and 138 in 2011, a trend which Sandoval credits to greater awareness of police reporting hotlines, and a wiretapping law passed in December 2011 which allows law enforcement to monitor phone calls.?

RELATED: Think you know Latin America? Take our geography quiz!

InSight Crime Analysis

If true, Sandoval's claim would demonstrate the brand power that street gangs like Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 have in the country. It would mean that in order to cow their targets into paying, lesser known criminal organizations are using the fear associated with these gangs for their own purposes.

A similar phenomenon has been observed in Mexico City, where "cartel impersonators" make their living by threatening residents with violence on behalf of groups like the Zetas and the Familia Michoacana, even though they have no connection with them.

In both of these cases, however,?these extortionists put themselves at risk. None of the organizations they are impersonating are likely to appreciate outsiders using their brand, and the impostors?could face deadly consequences.

? Geoffrey Ramsey is a writer for Insight ? Organized Crime in the Americas, which provides research, analysis, and investigation of the criminal world throughout the region. Find all of his research here.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of Latin America bloggers. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/l3nKWkwlPWI/Brand-power-in-Honduras-Lesser-known-gangs-claim-affiliation-to-infamous-maras

toyota recall northern lights sign of the times keystone pipeline purim acc tournament big ten tournament