El Salvadoran Fugitive Caught in Loudoun
Loudon Times Mirror : Jana Renn : August 29th 2006

Link:
http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=17126291&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506039&rfi=6

Summary:
An international fugitive was captured in Loudon County, Virginia. Juan Elias Rodriguez-Luna escaped from Ciudad Barrios Prison, in El Salvador, in August 2005, where he was serving a sentence for homicide. On July 27th the Loudon County Gang Enforcement Unit and Immigration and Customs Officials located the fugitive, who was believed to be a member of MS-13, in the Ashburn area. At the time he was apprehended for immigration violations. It was quickly confirmed that Rodriguez-Luna was an escaped fugitive. Rodriguez-Luna is in federal custody, where he awaits deportation and fugitive hearings.

Analysis:
In El Salvador, gangs are in segregated prisons, to prevent violence. Although, the prisons in Central America are shockingly violent. Normally, this means the MS-13 gangs virtually run some prisons, while the 18th Street Gang runs others. Ciudad Barrios is the sole preserve of MS-13. This is probably what led investigators to believe that Rodriguez-Luna was with MS-13. If they knew he was from this prison, then they knew he was MS-13.

In El Salvador, Mara Salvatrucha occupies Quetzaltepeque and Ciudad Barrios and the 18th Street Gang occupies Chalatenango and Cojutepeque prisons. One prison Zacatecoluca, A.K.A. Zacatraz, holds both gangs but in segregated wings. I can’t stress enough the importance the prisons in El Salvador play in the gang. They provide a leadership nucleus and schooling system for the gang. The prisons serve to make the culture and practices more homogeneous. As click members from throughout the country are brought to the prisons, they are reined in by a common leadership and culture there. Presumably, they then return, eventually, to their barrio clicks, where that culture and practices are passed on further.