Worth watching - January 17

NEWS RELEASE

VISIONTV

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360 Vision exclusive: Violent Latino gangs are spreading across Canada; one man's dangerous mission to save their souls

TORONTO — It is possibly the world's most feared criminal gang.

Its members are brutal killers, willing and able to claim the life of anyone who stands in their way.

So why does one young Toronto man believe God wants his help in saving them?

In its fifth season premiere, VisionTV's Gemini Award-nominated current affairs series 360 Vision presents an exclusive investigative report on the notorious Mara Salvatrucha gang, which is now spreading across Canada.

And it tells the story of a former gang member who is committed to turning other young men away from this life of violence.

The half-hour program, which includes rare interviews with gang members in Toronto and footage of their seldom-seen rituals, airs on Wednesday, January 17 at 10 p.m. ET, and repeats on Monday, January 22 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, was born during the 1980s in the Salvadoran community of Los Angeles, and today has an estimated 100,000 members worldwide.

Canadian law enforcement officials say the gang has been rapidly making inroads in this country.

Alex, an 18-year-old from north Toronto, entered the dangerous world of criminal gangs before he had even reached his teens.

At the age of 13, he was sentenced to three years behind bars for attempted murder.

Born a Muslim, Alex returned to the faith while serving his sentence.

Now, with the support of a radical Latin American priest from Toronto's San Lorenzo Anglican Church, he tries to convince other gang members that they can find a better life away from the streets.

"I want to have a future — and I'm trying to give other people a future," he tells 360 Vision's Kevin O'Keefe.

While police welcome the effort to reach out to gang members, they also believe people from the community should turn in those known to have committed violent crimes.

But in Alex's world, informants often pay a fatal price.

As for the young men in MS-13, they are more concerned with the here and now than with the state of their immortal souls.

"I know (God) doesn't like what we're doing," says one.

"(But) being on earth is a different world."

"You have to do certain things to survive."

360 Vision is the only weekly Canadian television program that probes the intersection of spirituality and daily events.

Its mandate is to give viewers a compass to help them to navigate the diverse and complex world of belief.

In its new season, the half-hour weekly series will feature provocative documentary reports, along with further installments of Heretics, a series of interviews with world-renowned men and women who have acted on their faith in ways that challenge traditional power structures and orthodoxies.

For more news and information on 360 Vision, please click here.

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