El Black and "Rooster," members of the Mara
18 gang, assault a man over a drug dispute in Guatemala City, Aug. 14, 2003.
The gangs control the small time drug trade in their neighborhoods. With
Honduras and El Salvador outlawing street gangs, neighboring Guatemala is
struggling to deal with increasing crime and homicides. Many of the gangs
originally started in cities like Los Angeles, but they were transplanted to
Central America along with gang members deported for crimes committed in the
United States.
