MS-13

Title Card of "MS-13"

Title card of CBS's "MS-13," which aired on December 4, 2005.

in 2005, 60 Minutes looked into the murder of Brenda Paz, a former member of MS-13, who agreed to collaborate with the police. Producer Kyra Darnton did extensive research and managed to set up an interview with Dan Rather. In prison, Rather interviewed Oscar Grande, Brenda's boyfriend, and Ismael Cisneros, both serving life in prison for Brenda's murder. He also talked to their lawyers and Brenda's closest friend, as well as to the head of the investigative division at the FBI, Assistant Director Chris Swecker.

Dan Rather remarked in his notebook how difficult the interviews were : "All afternoon and into night with tough interviews, trying to draw them out, get them to talk (Cisneros would only talk in Spanish. Garcia in English and Spanish.) Woman translator especially good." Looking back on the interviews, Rather noted, "I thought that both of these people were stone-cold killers. Cisneros says he's into God now. Old story of 'fox hole and prison conversion (to religion).' I'm not cynical about this. Just the facts: it happens often. I think Cisneros is sincere about finding God and Jesus. After all, he's just had the hell scare out of him- barely avoided death penalty."