Global Gangs, Local Threat: MS-13, 18th Street, Tren de Aragua & More

MS-13, 18th Street, and Tren de Aragua are no longer a regional or border problem. These transnational gangs have established a presence throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America, and MS-13 has now begun establishing itself in Europe as well. Most agencies encounter these groups in their communities long before their personnel have any formal training on how they're organized, how they identify themselves, or how they operate.

Global Gangs, Local Threat: MS-13, 18th Street, Tren de Aragua & More closes that gap. This course gives law enforcement professionals a working understanding of how these organizations are structured, how they use violence and intimidation to take over neighborhoods, and how they've evolved into transnational criminal organizations engaged in human smuggling and drug trafficking, a designation the U.S. Government has formally applied to them.

Led by Claudio Saa, a court-certified gang expert with more than two decades investigating MS-13 and 18th Street at the local, state, federal, and international level, this course walks participants through the history of these gangs, how to identify their members and their graffiti, how their organizational structures work, and where they stand today. Saa also covers the officer safety tactics and investigative approaches that come directly out of his own casework, including his experience working undercover and his ongoing collaboration with the El Salvador National Police.

hat You Will Learn

• The history of MS-13, 18th Street, Tren de Aragua, and how each gang formed and spread into the organizations agencies encounter today

• How to identify gang members through tattoos, dress, and other visual and behavioral identifiers specific to each group

• How to distinguish gang graffiti between MS-13, 18th Street, Tren de Aragua, and other groups, and what that graffiti communicates about turf and hierarchy

• The internal structure and chain of command within MS-13, 18th Street, and Tren de Aragua, and how that structure shapes how they operate

• The current status and reach of these gangs, including how they've expanded from regional street gangs into transnational criminal organizations

• How MS-13, 18th Street, and Tren de Aragua use human smuggling and drug trafficking to fund and expand their operations

• Officer safety tactics for encounters with gang members, drawn from an instructor with direct field and undercover experience

• Investigative techniques and interview strategies for interacting with and developing intelligence on gang members

• How these gangs move into and take over neighborhoods, and the crime patterns that typically precede that takeover

• Why the U.S. Government classifies these groups as transnational criminal organizations, and what that designation means operationally

Who Should Attend Law enforcement officers, probation and parole officers, active-duty military personnel, city, state, and federal prosecutors, and law enforcement support staff. Any agency operating in a jurisdiction where MS-13, 18th Street, Tren de Aragua, or similar transnational gangs are active, suspected, or emerging needs personnel who can recognize these groups on sight and understand how they operate. This course is built for the officers, investigators, and prosecutors who are most likely to encounter these gangs in the field or build cases against them.

Your Instructor Claudio Saa is a nationally recognized expert on MS-13, 18th Street, and Tren de Aragua. He began his law enforcement career in 1999 at a Northern Virginia police department and in 2003 was assigned as a detective to a regional Gang Task Force, where he investigated all facets of gang crime and compiled and disseminated gang intelligence throughout the region, work that extended nationally and internationally. Saa has been recognized and certified as a gang expert in the courts of Virginia, California, and Maryland, and in United States Federal Courts in the Eastern District of Virginia, the District of New Jersey, the District of Massachusetts, and the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. He has worked in an undercover capacity on local, state, and federal investigations, has been deputized as a task force officer with multiple federal agencies, and has worked closely with the El Salvador National Police in the ongoing fight against MS-13 and 18th Street.

Cost $199 per person.

Payment Options Credit card online, purchase order, or check. Invoice will be generated prior to class but is not due before. Checks payable to Training Force USA, 7769 McClure Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32312.

Cancellations and Substitutions Registrations are confirmed upon submission and participants are responsible for payment regardless of attendance. Substitutions are welcome at any time by phone, email, or online. If minimum enrollment is not met, the class will transition to an on-demand format and all registered participants will be notified. A full refund is also available.

Questions Phone: 850-556-4544 | Email: contactus@trainingforceusa.com | www.trainingforceusa.com