Crime does not actually pay in this case, but it still costs a lot of money

El Salvador Loses $4B Annually because of Gang Micro-Extortions.  Although anywhere between US$5 and US$20 is taken in each shakedown, the combined total carves a significant chunk out of the national economy.  Micro-extortion from gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18 is costing El Salvador's small business community US$4 billion each year. El Salvador's largest gang, MS-13, etches out a meager existence through micro-extortion, according to an investigation by El Faro and The New York Times. Micro-extortions earn the organization an annual revenue of just over US$31 million. With about 40,000 gang members, an equal division of the funds amounts to about US$65 a month.  An agricultural day laborer makes twice that amount monthly, according to QZ.  TeleSur