Both Maras Salvatrucha and Dieciocho started in Los Angeles in the 1980:s and spread to the streets of Guatemala and Central America when the U.S. deported gang members. The name Salvatrucha, comes from the fugitives from the war in El Salvador that started the gangs in L.A. while Dieciocho, eighteen, is named after a street in one of the citys Latin suburbs.