Congress has maintained an interest in the effects of gang violence in Central America, and on the expanding activities of transnational gangs with ties to that region operating in the United States. Since FY2008, Congress has appropriated significant amounts of funding for anti-gang efforts in Central America, as well as domestic anti-gang programs. Two recent developments may affect congressional interest in Central American gangs: a truce between rival gangs has dramatically lowered violence in El Salvador and the U.S. Treasury Department has designated the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) as a significant transnational criminal organization (TCO). MS-13 and its main rival, the "18th Street" gang (also known as M-18) continue to threaten citizen security and challenge government authority in Central America. Gang-related violence has been particularly acute in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, which have among the highest homicide rates in the world. In recent years, some governments have moved away, at least on a rhetorical level, from repressive anti-gang strategies, with the government of El Salvador now facilitating a historic-and risky-truce involving the country's largest gangs. The truce has resulted in a dramatic reduction in homicides since March 2012, but carries risks for the Salvadoran government such as what might happen if the gangs were to walk away from the truce and emerge stronger as a result of months of less-stringent prison conditions.