Guide Note:
Brenda Paz was a former member of the Mara Salvatrucha or the MS-13 street gang. In 2002, Paz testified against the gang, providing authorities with such information as: gang organization, key members of the gang, and gang signs used by MS-13. Jumped in at age 13, Paz was killed in retaliation in 2002 at age 16.
Fast Facts:
- Born: 1986
- Birthplace: Honduras
- Jumped into MS-13 at age 13
- Raised in Los Angeles
- Gang nickname: "Smiley"
- Had a gang tattoo of three dots, which represented the three places the gang will take you: jail, hospital or the cemetery
- Four months pregnant when she was killed
- Killed by her boyfriend, Oscar Grande and fellow gang member Ismael Cisneros
- Gang encompasses 42 states in the U.S.
- MS-13 rooted in the immigration of refugees from El Salvador in the 1980s
- Approximate members in the United States: 10,000
- Died: 2003
