Guardian Angels head to South America

As part of an initiative to bring more anti-gang education overseas, the Guardian Angels announced that they will found and visit chapters in Argentina, Peru and Uruguay - with the aim of educating local residents about the group and crime-fighting tactics before they emigrant to the United States, particularly to Queens.
Since 1979, when the group was founded, the Guardian Angels have also spread into Europe, South Africa, Japan, Brazil, the Philippines, and New Zealand. After patrolling Corona where a large number of immigrants reside, organizers decided to spread their message on both fronts - here and in South and Central America.
&#8220The Guardian Angels are 70 percent Latino,” said Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa during a press conference to announce the new initiative. &#8220We started our anti-gang program in Corona in 2003 and now we are taking it into Central and South America.”
In Argentina, where supplies and provisions were provided by the local government, the Guardian Angels will open an office and immediately begin the recruitment and training of new members. In Uruguay, the group will supervise a group of 30 to 50 members on gang combat and tactics procedures, aiming to enlist 200 members by next summer. In addition, in Lima, Peru, the organizers will attend the graduation of the first class of Guardian Angels, who have been training for the past three months. In addition, 10 other Guardian Angel chapters will be setup in other cities of Peru.
&#8220This is an idea whose time has come, and as Latinos we need to stand up and be part of the solution. If not, we are only part of the problem,” said Project Coordinator and Senior Director Arnaldo Salinas, who will oversee training in the new initiative.
Later, the group hopes to spread its wings into countries like Colombia, El Salvador, and Guatemala, where tough gangs like M.S.13, which has become particularly prevalent in Queens, are rooted, said Assemblymember Jose Peralta.
Since last year, gang membership in New York City has increased from 12,000 to 15,000 members, New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Ray Kelly said in October. Although Kelly downplayed the number as relatively small compared with an estimated 200,000 gang members in Los Angeles, local officials believe that the increase in gang membership has been concentrated in pockets of Queens, where many new immigrants live - like Elmhurst, Corona and Jackson Heights.
&#8220Maybe their [immigrants'] lack of understanding of the system, the language barriers, they may have been professionals in their country, but it becomes difficult here in terms of making it the way they believed they would make it,” Peralta said. &#8220The kids they get recruited; the young people they have no opportunities for a job. Every door is closed to them and then these gangs come along, and tell them, ‘You'll have everything that you need.' ”
Peralta said that his office has made education about gang violence, particularly for local parents, one of his top priorities, but attendance at lectures and training sessions is often low.
&#8220The biggest concern that people have is that the police are going to be there,” he said. &#8220We need to make them familiar with the Guardian Angels and the police, who can help them.”
Peralta hopes once the Guardian Angels become more established in Central and South America that their mission will be understood and embraced by both local residents and those who ultimately emigrate to the United States.