MS-13 and 18th Street gang members removed from the United States to  Central American countries established gangs in those countries. The 93 U.S. The Interagency Antigang Strategy Clarifies Roles and Specifies Agency Activities, but Lacks an Approach for Oversight and Comprehensive Measures to Assess Implementation Efforts

Various federal departments and agencies under the auspices of the NSC  developed an interagency strategy for combating gangs with connections  to Central America that defines the roles and responsibilities of federal  agencies in carrying out the strategy, identifies the problems and risks  associated with the gangs, defines its scope and purpose, and identifies  specific activities to be taken to achieve results. However, it lacks other  key characteristics, such as providing an approach or framework to  include an entity for overseeing implementation, and goals and measures  for assessing progress and performance in implementing the strategy. According to State and USAID officials as well as officials from the FBI  and ICE, State and USAID have not consulted or worked with DOJ and  DHS agencies such as FBI and ICE in developing these performance  measures because State’s and USAID’s measures are intended to  encompass only their own programs and efforts. To coordinate their implementation of antigang programs,  agencies use a variety of mechanisms such as interagency committees and  task forces. However, for the antigang unit in El Salvador, coordination  among the FBI, ICE, and Salvadoran law enforcement in sharing  investigative information on gangs could be enhanced by reaching  agreement on ICE’s participation in the unit. Further, although agencies  have taken steps to develop performance measures and obtain data on  those measures to track the results of programs, agencies are just starting  to collect performance data due to the early stage of implementation of  most of these programs. Federal Agencies Have Developed a Variety of Programs to Implement the Interagency Strategy

To carry out the Strategy and combat transnational gangs with  connections to Central American countries, federal agencies have  developed and implemented a variety of programs in the United States and  in host countries in the region, such as El Salvador and Guatemala. Federal Agencies Have Coordinated Their Antigang Programs through Various Mechanisms, but Could Strengthen Coordination by Examining the Establishment and Composition of a Salvadoran-Based Law Enforcement Unit

Federal agencies have taken action to coordinate their antigang programs  and share information with each other through various interagency and  coordinating groups. Appendix  IV provides additional information on the roles and responsibilities of  these and other headquarters-level coordinating entities as well as task  forces that coordinate antigang efforts at the field level within the United  States. The FBI agents then pass the requests to Salvadoran national police  officials if the FBI agents do not have the information needed to fulfill  ICE’s requests. By reaching agreement on ICE’s role, which the  FBI and ICE have been considering since 2008, the two agencies would be  in a better position to leverage their existing resources and information- sharing processes for gang investigations with a nexus to El Salvador. For example, USAID has established measures for its  community policing program, such as the number of communities that  have implemented community policing programs. Recommendations for Executive Action

To strengthen oversight and accountability for implementation of the  Strategy to Combat the Threat of Criminal Gangs from Central America  and Mexico (the Strategy), we recommend that the Special Assistant to the  President for National Security Affairs, in conjunction with DOJ, DHS,  State, USAID, and DOD, revise the Strategy to include, or include in the  CARSI if the Strategy is incorporated into that initiative    an approach or framework for overseeing implementation of the Strategy  and antigang efforts in Central America, and    performance goals and measures to assess progress made in achieving  intended results under the Strategy. Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided a draft of this report for review to the Departments of  Defense (DOD), Homeland Security (DHS), Justice (DOJ), and State  (State); the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); and the  National Security Council (NSC). Appendix V: Scope and Methodology

To determine to what extent the U.S. federal government has developed a  strategy to combat transnational gangs with connections to Central  America, we examined the interagency strategy, called the Strategy to  Combat the Threat of Criminal Gangs from Central America and Mexico  (the Strategy), and compared the contents of the Strategy to select criteria  in our prior work on desirable characteristics of an effective national  strategy, including (1) clear purpose, scope, and methodology; (2)  discussion of problems, risks, and threats; (3) desired goals, objectives,  activities, and performance measures; and (4) delineation of roles and  responsibilities.
Why GAO Did This Study

Thousands of gang members in the United States belong to gangs such as MS-13 and 18th Street that are also active in Central American countries. Federal entities with responsibilities for addressing Central American gangs include the National Security Council (NSC); the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Justice (DOJ), and State; and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). GAO was asked to review federal efforts to combat transnational gangs. This report addresses (1) the extent to which the federal government has developed a strategy to combat these gangs, and (2) how federal agencies have implemented the strategy and other programs to combat these gangs, coordinated their actions, and assessed their results. GAO examined federal agencies' antigang plans, resources, and measures; interviewed federal, state, and local officials in seven localities representing varying population sizes and geographic regions; and interviewed U.S. and foreign officials in El Salvador and Guatemala where U.S. agencies have implemented antigang programs. The results of these interviews are not generalizable.

What GAO Found

The NSC, in conjunction with State, DOJ, DHS, and USAID, developed a strategy to combat gangs with connections to Central America; however, the strategy lacks an approach or framework to oversee implementation and performance goals and measures to assess progress. GAO previously reported that characteristics such as defining the problem to be addressed as well as the scope and methodology of the strategy; describing agencies' activities, roles, and responsibilities; providing an approach to oversee implementation; and establishing performance measures, among other characteristics, can enhance a strategy's effectiveness. While the antigang strategy contains some of these characteristics, such as identifying the problems and risks associated with the gangs, describing the scope and purpose of the strategy, and defining roles and responsibilities of federal agencies as well as specific implementation activities, it lacks other characteristics such as an approach for overseeing implementation and goals and measures for assessing progress. For example, although agencies coordinate the strategy's implementation through an interagency task force, agency officials reported that this task force does not oversee the strategy's implementation and that no entity exercises oversight responsibility for the strategy's implementation. Similarly, while State and USAID are developing measures to assess the outcomes of their antigang programs, these measures do not encompass all programs under the strategy or track results of the strategy as a whole. Incorporating these characteristics could enhance the accountability of agencies to implement the strategy and provide a means for assessing progress. To carry out the strategy and combat transnational gangs, federal agencies have implemented programs and taken steps to coordinate their actions and develop performance measures to assess results of individual programs; but, coordination could be strengthened in an antigang unit in El Salvador by reaching agreement on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) role in the unit, the only such unit currently in Central America. Agencies use various interagency groups to coordinate with each other, such as DOJ's Anti-gang Coordination Committee. However, improved coordination at the FBI-initiated antigang unit in El Salvador could enhance information sharing. While the FBI requests information directly from Salvadoran police, ICE requests go to its country attache, then to FBI agents at the unit who pass it on to Salvadoran police, as ICE does not have an agent at the unit. Prior GAO work has shown that agencies should facilitate information sharing and look for opportunities to leverage resources. Although FBI and ICE officials agree that the process could be improved by posting an ICE agent at the unit and have been discussing the possibility since 2008, they have not yet reached agreement on ICE's role. By reaching agreement, the FBI and ICE could strengthen coordination and information sharing. While agencies have established measures to assess programs, as some of the programs are just starting, data collection for many measures is in the early stages.