I'm Kelly McEvers and this is Embedded, an NPR podcast where we take a story from the

news and go deep.

And today we're talking about the story.

Tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors from Central America surge across the surge of

kids who are streaming in from Central America into Texas.

Summer 2014, so-called surge of migrant stars.

Kids and their parents from Central America coming to the US by the tens of thousands.

At the time I, and I think everybody wanted to know, why are so many people coming?

And the reason we kept hearing was the gangs.

Violent street gangs that control entire sections of countries like El Salvador, Guatemala,

collecting protection money and killing people if they don't comply.

And rumors were going around that if you fled this violence with your kid or sent your

kid alone, there might be a better chance of getting into the US.

I think most of us get how gangs can make life really hard.

But how can a bunch of dudes with tattoos and baggy jeans terrorize an entire country

that I do not get?

Yeah, it's a bit right up ahead.

So I recently went to El Salvador to meet people who are still trying to leave that country

and come to the US.

And while I'm there reporting that story, I find out how gangs can terrorize a country.

One day, gang members start setting city buses on fire and then they start murdering bus drivers.

One by one.

...