This "MS" tattoo identifies its owner as a member in Mara Salvatrucha, a large Hispanic gang formed in the Salvadoran community in Los Angeles. Some gang members were deported to El Salvador years ago and now the gang has spread throughout that country and Honduras. MS-13 (it is affiliated with the Mexican Mafia) spread throughout the United States as Central American immigrants came to America to find work. The gang is now very strong on the East Coast.