By MARCOS ALEMAN
Associated Press Writer
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador- Street gangs spread across much of Central America have grown more violent and sophisticated in recent years and now present a regional security threat, a top U.S. Justice Department official said Thursday.
Addressing a Central American anti-gang summit in the Salvadoran capital, Alice Fisher said increasingly powerful gangs have spread to Mexico and U.S. cities. She had no information linking them to international terrorist groups.
“They are involved in other activities, drug-trafficking, rapes, murders, kidnappings and many other types of crimes,” Fisher said, adding that it is vital to “stop them now, because it’s a serious problem for us.”
The meetings brought together governmental leaders from across the region. Representing the U.S. government at the meetings were several high-level Justice Department officials, as well as leaders from the FBI and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Fisher called on governments to work to disband gangs, saying it was “not enough to send them to prison.”
“There need to be prevention and education efforts,” she said.
Fisher said that two especially violent groups _ the Mara Salvatrucha and Mara 18 _ are among those gangs that have overrun El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and have headed north to Mexico and the United States as lawmakers approve crackdowns in their homelands.
A law in Honduras makes gang membership illegal and prompted the arrests of tens of thousands of youngsters for as little as having gang tattoos.
“Gang members in general are becoming more violent, more sophisticated in their organization and technology and are creating many more problems for our youngsters and our families,” Fisher said.