A news story from our archives in 2008 reported that Monroe County police were investigating graffiti left at more than a dozen locations in Mount Pocono.

Messages at a bank location referenced the violent street gang known as MS-13 and contained derogatory statements to police. More messages were painted on 15 locations at an apartment complex in Mount Pocono.

The MS-13 group may not have meant much to readers nine years ago but they certainly have the attention of citizens - especially law enforcement - today. According to a study done by the University of Pittsburgh, the gang is believed to have a presence in 46 states with between 6,000 and 10,000 members nationwide.

Their motto is chilling: "Kill, Rape, Control."

Massachusetts attorney Carmen Ortiz said MS-13 is the first and only criminal organization in the U.S. to be named as 'transnational' by the FBI. They are also operating in Mexico, Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

In Los Angeles, they've gained a reputation as one of the most ruthless and sophisticated street gangs in the country.

They were once considered by some to be a highly organized paramilitary group, with many members formerly belonging to Salvadoran guerrilla forces. The FBI, however, has stated that the gang is more like a "loosely structured street gang," and not a highly sophisticated criminal enterprise.

MS-13 was founded more than two decades ago in Southern California by immigrants fleeing El Salvador's civil war. It is believed that the Mexican drug lord "El Chapo" contracted the gang to assist in his drug war and the distribution of drugs.

The Associated Press has reported that the gang has indulged in beheadings and grenade attacks in Central America, as well as machete attacks in cities along our East Coast.

Just last week, the bodies of four men were discovered in a wooded area of a park in Long Island. The victims, which included a 16-year-old boy, two 18-year-old men and a 20-year-old man, suffered "significant trauma" throughout their bodies and were killed with "a sharp or edged instrument."

It has been reported that MS-13 recruits young children - some as young as 8 - in urban areas populated by Central American immigrants and teaches them to become killers.

New inductees earn respect from gang members by killing their enemies, most often rival gang members.

According to LaRoche College and Averett University researcher Albert De Amicis, who did an independent study at the University of Pittsburgh in 2010, those who become part of the gang must first be "jumped in," which includes a savage beating for 13 seconds by all members of the gang. If the hopeful inductee survives, then they will be welcomed with "open arms."

Migrant workers are also sometimes lured into the web.

Corrections officials have said that MS-13 markets the gang as a way to embrace Latin American heritage, encouraging youth to show pride toward their culture. In reality, this is just to mask over their real criminal objectives.

Ed Ryan, a gang prevention coordinator in Virginia's Fairfax County, said MS-13 preys on "kids who are new to an area or are looking for someone who they can relate to."

Members of MS-13 have also operated out of prison. According to the LA Times, gang members pay guards to smuggle in cellphones, which members use to consult and communicate with other members in Guatemala, Honduras and the U.S.

MS-13 has helped their home nation of El Salvador become the country with the fourth highest per capita murder rate in the world, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Our porous southern border has been an enticing route for criminals seeking to traffic drugs into the U.S.

It is this kind of criminal element that the Trump administration is attempting to shut down by tightening our southern border.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com