An associate of mine with the Marshals Service and I spent some time in El Salvador researching gangs and spent some time with MS-13 and 18th Street members. Bottom line is they're savages and "typical" law enforcement tactics does not work well against them. Here are some photos I took in El Salvador:
http://www.jeffrandallphotography.com/gallery13.htm
If you haven't already seen it then take a look at the El Salvador MS-13 report we have up on our site:
http://www.jungletraining.com/sitrep.htm
I also received an updated report about the gang warfare on our border. I haven't posted it up yet but it's pretty brutal.