Head of U.S. Army Southern Command, Gen. Bantz Craddock , testified before Congress last year that there were an estimated 70,000 mareros (gangsters)

Head of U.S. Army Southern Command, Gen. Bantz Craddock , testified before Congress last year that there were an estimated 70,000 mareros (gangsters) in Central America. The two most feared maras (which take their name from the Spanish word for "army ants") are the 18th Street Gangsters, or Mara 18, and the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. Comparable to the Crips and Bloods in this country, the 18th Street Gangsters and Mara Salvatrucha are bitter rivals.They distinguish themselves from each other by their intricate and expansive tattoos and hand signs that signal their gang allegiance.Gang members in Guatemala walk a thin line -- they are both killers and victims of the violence that plagues Central America.Nearly 10 years after the signing of the peace accords that ended Guatemala's civil war, the country is mired in violence and desperation. The Guatemalan daily Siglo Veintiuno counted at least 1,966 killings in Guatemala from July 2004 to July 2005. The 2004 homicide rate in Guatemala was more than 34 per 100,000, according to the U.S. congressional report. The U.S. rate was less than 6 per 100,000. Gangs are blamed for much of Guatemala's violence.