Back to the Real Salt Lake Newsfeed

'Vying for control': How MS-13 uses violence and extortion in America's jails

The Bloods gang member was sitting at a table inside the Prince George's County, Maryland, jail last spring when two other inmates approached from behind.

The attack on May 5, 2017, came at a moment when MS-13's ranks in the jail were at an all-time high — the result of a nationwide crackdown on the violent street gang. Of the jail's 900 or so inmates at the time, officials said, about 50 were tied to MS-13.

"Our incidents every month are predominantly MS," said a Prince George's jail investigator, speaking on the condition of anonymity for his safety.