Help keep Salon independent

Alistair Fraser

In this June 21, 2016 photo, a child peers from behind the door of her home, covered with Mara Salvatrucha gang graffiti, in Soyapango, El Salvador. After becoming the world's murder capital last year and posting an equally bloody start to 2016, El Salvador has seen its monthly homicide rates fall by about half. The government attributes the drop to a tough military crackdown on the country's powerful gangs, while the gangs themselves claim credit for a nonaggression pact between the three biggest criminal groups. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (AP)

Running the streets: A tale of three surprisingly different street gangs around the world

Alistair Fraser