The odd directive was part of an overall instruction to gang leaders to "blend in" with their surroundings by wearing fewer gang colors and clothes in order to avoid being spotted by police.
Edwin Manica Flores, also known as "Sugar", relayed his instructions via a call from Central America to a meeting of MS-13 gang leaders from Boston, Houston, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.
“Dressed like that, the enemy can see you, the police can arrest you, and boom, to El Salvador,” Flores, 35, said in an intercepted call from Central America. “To a great life there, one must be humble, you know, to avoid being detected.”
Flores was indicted as part of a six-month investigation that led to over 3,800 arrests in the U.S. and Central America. U.S. authorities worked with their Central American counterparts to coordinate the large-scale operation.
The MS-13 gang is believed to have 10,000 members in the U.S. and 30,000 in Central America. The gang's motto is "kill, rape, control". Members are notorious for grisly tactics, like hacking victims with machetes and knives.
MS-13 originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s and quickly spread to the east coast. The gang was recently involved in a string of gruesome murders in Long Island and the DC Metro area, along with other states.
To grow membership, the gang taps into the vulnerable population of unaccompanied minors from Central America by providing them with a sense of family, WJLA reported.
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