A mara (or marabunta) is a form of gang originating in the United States, which spread to Central American countries such as El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Definition of mara A mara is regarded as a group of delinquents of Latin America origin who reside in the United States but have spread towards Central America; namely, in the countries belonging to the Northern Triangle of Central America: Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The maras are not just Central American phenomena; they are transnational. A mara has an organizational structure in which there is a leader in charge of a cadre which, in turn, branches in several cadres. Each of these sub-groups has internal functions such as recruiting followers for drug trafficking, logistics; attacks; intelligence, collection and propaganda, murder, and extortion among other criminal activities. Although each mara has its internal rule, violence action is the most apparent characteristic of this multi-ethnic group. History: origin and background In October 1979, the Governing Junta made up of civilians and army officers disintegrated in El Salvador because its civilian members resigned due to their failure to reach agreement on reforms and their inability to bring the military under control. The civil war broke out in 1980. It was characterized by extreme violence including the terrorizing and targeting of civilians by death squads and recruitment of child soldiers. As a result of this armed conflict in Central America, Salvadorans fled to the US and settled in a ghetto in Los Angeles. There, they encountered other migrants from Latin America but the ones that more ferociously fought them and discriminated against them were the Mexican. Salvadorans were poorly educated and found it difficult to land a job. They found themselves in a city already structured according to gang organizations. As they felt excluded from this criminal structured society, they had no other choice than to get together to form their own gang. There are two main mafia groups known as maras in Los Angeles: 18th Street and Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13. Their main feature is the extreme violence with which they perpetrate their criminal acts. The maras are involved in criminal actions, such as murder, rape and all kinds of brutal criminal activities. They are recognizable by their eccentric tattoos spread on their entire bodies. Members of the maras had been deported to their countries of origin after having served their penalties in the US.