Gangs Quiz 3
Lecture
 Cartels fight over plazas
 Violence changes you  affects brain development and desensitizes you
 Majority of illegal drugs come from southern border
 Drug cartels control majority of drugs coming into America
 Drug cartels can be very small or very large
 8 HIDTA regions – divided by government to track drug sales
 meth and cocaine are most abused according to HIDTA?
 Most popular illegal drug is marijuana
 Meth is popular in west
 Cocaine is popular in east
 There are Asian and Colombian drug trafficking cartels
 All cocaine manufactured in south america
 Western half  Mexicans control majority
 Mexican drug cartels are evolving
 No academic study to tell which cities Mexican cartels are in
 Mexican cartels have emerged as primary drug traffickers in america
 Narco junior – group of young men
 Gonzalo another narco junior found in street (excuted on American soil)  they
think marquez could be the killer
 Mexican cartels are becoming criminal
 AFO (Ariano Felix Organisation) has direct connection to Mexican Mafia and
American street gangs
 There can be a family connection to transnational gang
 The Arian brothers are all in custody or dead
 Money can buy you anything
 Cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and meth generate the most money
 Drug use have increased
 Cartels have no budget
 Illinois has highest density of gang members
 Indoor cultivation - grow houses of high quality marijuana in country and can be
sold to whole sale
 THC in marijuana – in 20’s percentile
 Mark Emery  prince of pot
 Malache  makes THC butter in Canada, no one makes this in America 
considered as medicine but quite potent
 About 30% of money cartels make come from marijuana
 Number 1 indoor grown state for marijuana is Florida
 Porse borders make it easier for drugs to come across
 Free Trade Agreement – eliminate trade barriers
 Robin Hood Effect – japan hit 20 years ago, took japan gov 72 hours to get help
 the Yakuza people were able to bring help before the government, so when
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police wanted to capture Yakuza (criminal group), the victims refused to help the
police because the Yakuza helped them
Canadian marijuana is transported in SouthEast and West
1st generation us citizen (kids) are responsible for drug trafficking
law enforcement doesn't consider MS -13 as most violent gang
MS 13 is not the most violent gang
8-10% of gang account for disproportion of the violence
MS 13 were first known as MSS (stoners) (Mara Salariche, pleasnts 
Salvadorian)
Few members of stoner group were ex gang, became graffiti, then rivalry formed
and became victims of 18th street, and wanted to defend themselves against 18th
street so then MS 13 was formed and MS 13 has alliance with Mexican Mafia
Drug Traffic Organisation in Central America and Mexico has diversified
Meth is most dangerous drug
94 year old woman had pot wrapped around her
Readings
 Mexico
o Severed heads of 8 soldiers found in plastic bag near shopping center in
Chilpancingo before Christmas. Another 3 found in icebox near border of
Ciudad Juarez.
o Santiago Meza – El Polzolero (the soupmaker) confessed to having
dissolved bodies of more than 300 people in acid over past 9 years on
orders of local drug baron.
o Noe Ramirez, prosecutor in charge of organised crime unit was charged
with taking bribes of 450k a month to pass info to Sinaloa drug mob,
along with 6 other others.
o Pakistan and Mexico are two foundries most as risked of becoming failed
states.
o Merida Initative – program of security aid for Mexico and Central
America
o Clinton launched Plan Colombia – US trained and helped to equip security
forces at cost more than 6 billion since 2000
 Made country safer, but didn't help the anti drug program
o Alvaro Uribe, Colombia’s president – sprayed hundreds of hectares with
weedkiller but area of coca seemed to risen again however, cocaine
production in Andes remains stable
o Cocain consumption first took off in US in 1970s, main smuggling route
involved from Colombia to Caribeean in ligh aircraft
 America’s shut down of this route led the Colombians to send the
drugs to Mexico
 In mexico, small gangs had long run heroin and marijuava across
the border  their move into cocaine made them far more
powerful
 Two things that helped mexico grow: promiximity to US, and
flaws of Mexican state
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Drug lords now stay under the radar and only show their faces in
remote parts of Sierra Madre
Violence is a sign that drug gangs are truning on each other to fight to
hang on to a share of shrinking business
Most killings in Mexico: Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, and Culiacan
Mexico’s murder rate is relative low at 11 per 100,000 people
 Kidnaps account for 1% of crimes in Mexico
 7 out of 10 crimes not reported
 drug trafficking is federal crime but kidnapping is a state matter
12,000 out of 107,000 gunshops in America are close to Mexican border
and sales are much higher than average
one of the most violent drug gangs is known as Zetas, made up of special
forces troops who changed sides a decade ago
Europe
 price of cocaine is falling in Europe, therefore availability of cocaine is increasing,
and users are increasing
 Britain – europe’s most coke hungry country
 Europe accounts for 17% of global cocaine seizures
 Europe’s cocaine market – shipments head for Iberian Penniusula towards the
hotspot in north Atlantic coast of Spain
o Spain and Portugal have some of highest rates of consumption on
continent
 Sharp rise of cocaine smuggled into Europe via west Africa (22%)
 Britain – europe’s biggest consumer of narcotics
 Cocaine accounts for about half the value of this industry, being less widely taken
than cannabis but much pricier
 Most drug businesses are forced to stay small and simple to evade the police
o Also did criminal background check, but a criminal record was a good
thing
 To protect their profits, dealers are diluting what they sell, purity went from 60%
to now 30%
 Personal possession of any drug is not a criminal offence in spain, Portugal, Italy,
the Czech republic or the Baltic states
 Sweden – if illegal drugs are found it is a criminal offense and can serve jail time
 has below average number of problem drug users
 No link between the strictness of prohibition and the amount of drug consumption
 Drug taking is more closely linked to being wealthy, single, and male
America
 Imprisons more people for drug offenses than any other country
 Cocaine use fell steeply among 12th graders (17/18 year olds)
 Most attempt to reduce drug demand in US are aimed at 11-14 year olds
 Attitudes to the drug have hardened (meth) and use has dropped?
Surenos and Norteno Gangs
 La Eme – California’s first prison gang formed by Huero Buff Flores and
other East Los Angeles gang members at Duel Vocational Institute in 1956
o Original members were Mexican, mixed raced Mexican, and one
Korean
o Formed for protection originally
o Membership based on race
o Mexicans from northern California were considered unsophisticated
because they still spoke Spanish and worked in rural and farming areas
and considered Mexicans from southern California as hamburger
eating Mexicans
o Southern California gangs called northern California gangs “juan
gumps” and
o northern California prisom gangs were taxed, robbed, victimized by
La Eme prison gang members
 San Quentin, state prison in Northern California Eme gang member named
Pieface, cell mate of Hector “Mad Dog” Padilla from northern California.
o Mad dog had pair of black leather shoes , and Pieface stole his shoes
o Pieface gave the shoes to another member of Mexican Mafia (Eme)
named Robert “Robot” Salas
o Mad dog saw Robot with the shoes and accused Robot of stealing the
shoes so this was an insult to the Eme gang member and a fight started,
and Mad Dog got stabbed and died
o Another version was that Robot was cellmate of Mad Dog and Pieface
steals Mad Dog’s shoes, and robot gets shoes as gift, same result
 Nuestra familia formed due to mad dog’s murder, to protect the northern
Mexicans from members of La Eme, southern califrnia Mexican prison gang
o NF: number 14, letter N for norteno, ene
o Anyone from southern California was a rival in or out of prison
o Color red (prison and street gang from northern) because most original
members had red colored handerchief
 Mexican Mafia, La Eme, souterhn California gang
o Number 13, sureno, sur, number 13 tats or sur and sureno
o Blue
 California Mexican prison gangs were first to adopt color red and blue
 Bakersfield/Delano: boundary of norteno and sureno
Non California based surenos
 1980s-1990s – southwestern states started to note presence of street gangs
calling themselves sureno or sureno 13
o outside of california - sometimes gangs were not from California or
different rival gang mmembers from so cal and now associating as one
gang
o they claim allegiance by adding number 13, this could happen even
though there are no formal connections to tradional Hispanic street
gangs from so cal, can also happen to norteno affiliation  females
can be members, can be gfs, and can be used as drug couriers or to
gather intelligence on rival gangs
 often no connection between the gangs except the use of the
name
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majority of street gangs usually develop in the geographical location where
they are located
gang migration account for small percentage of gang growth
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sureno definitions:
o 1: southern California style of gangstership developed by Hispanic
street gangs/allegiance to so cal Hispanic street gangs with Mexican
mafia (hence number use of 13 for prison so cal gangs)
 so cal sureno based gangs have been power based for Mexican
mafia, same for norteno
o 2: Hispanic based street gangs, outside California that have so cal gang
mmebers from different and or rival gangs assocating as sureno or
sureno-13 street gang  may attack each other if in California because
they are rivals
o 3: non native California gang members who claim membership in a
gang that uses a name of so cal based street gang
 tend to be immigrants from mexico and central america
 Midwest and eastern parts of country usually
 Some never even been to so cal and still use the sureno type
gangstership
 Only have name in common, NO formal connection/ties
 Involved in all types of gangs
Sureno gangs
 First sureno gang in 1990 called 47th street surenos,
 Original members migrated from los angeles and relocated on 47th street in
sacramento
 Hispanic youths placed in esl classes and picked on by local norteno gang members,
and so these youth from sac considered themselves surenos
 Migrating so cal gang members, undocumented immigrant farm workers from
mexico, local youths in California
 Two factors that probably influence spread of sureno gangs in nor cal: age,
demographic difference (more southern than northern gang)
 North-south barrier appears to been moved to San Jose
 Surenos and nortenos have made appearances outside of California and in other
countries
 Norteno = derogatory term for surenos
 Scraps = trash
 Scrapa = trash
 Sureno = derogatory terms for notenos
 Chaps = dirty complexion, skin color
 Chapeta = pussy
 Buster = not claiming gang membership when you are one
18th street gang
 18th street gang – probably one of largest Hispanic street gnags in the
country and is transnational
 1960 - formed because of racism and bais on part of Mexican street gang
members against mixed race Mexicans and non Mexicans who wanted to
join neighbourhood gang
 there was an established Mexican street gang in los angeles known as
clanton street gang formed around 1920s, first members were Caucasian
youths, by 1960s became all Hispanic males, gang in second generation
and denied youths membership that weren’t fully Mexican
 these youths that were denied membership from clanton street formed
their own gang  now known as 18th street gang
 (original name) black wrist  latin kings  baby aranas (baby spiders)
18th street
o rivals: clanton street and hazard gangs
o mainly undocumented immigrants and central
americans
 1960s, pair of brothers joined 18th -> rocky (most violent) and Mark
Glober, mixed race native American and german, most ruthless
 1975 all orginal 18th street gang members were gone, but gang continued
to grow membership
 first Hispanic street gang to officially break racial membership barrier
 generally turf oriented, but some members travelled to other areas to
establish new cliques and start illegal activities
 desecocho (Spanish for 18), 666m mara 18, mara deseocho
 1990s – some members in east coast, mainly uncumented Mexican
immigrants, direct ties to their west coast counterparts, may be extended
family members or friends
 has ties with Mexican and Columbian drug cartels, and Mexican mafia
prison gangs and many African American street gangs
 78% of all street gangs are involved in some type of drug transactions
 make money off of drug trafficking
 tax collectors, appears of be one of their most profitable business
o Columbia little cycos (CLCS) so efficient at
collecting taxes, they collect 250k a month
 18th street gang cliques are called canchas in el Salvador
 also recruit children 8015
 known as “children’s army”
 loose organisation
 rivals – ms 13 and florencia 13
 allegiance to west coast sureno gangs
mara salvatrucha - formed in 1985
o birth in city of angels
o formed as social group to assist other Salvadorian immigrants
o poverty and violence – most common reason why people leave their countries
o some el salvadorean refugees had ties with La Mara, el savadorean street gang,
had ties/ex members of Farabundo Mart National Liberation (FMNL- group of
peasants trained in guerrilla war)
o early membership had former guerrillas and Salvadorian solderies
o street gangs in el Salvador account for 60-70% of all criminal activity, 1/5 of
Salvadorians left heir country
o settled in area of 18th street gang, but were victimized
o founding members were first members of LA based heavy metal stoner group
called MSS or Mara Salvatrucha Stoners
o changed to MS in 1990s
o rivals of 18th street, battled for turf control of Rampart area of LA
o 1992 they gained control of some of the rampart area
o 1992 mexican mafia sent edct to surenos to pay mexican mafia a tribute, and
some ms cliques didn't pay, but however settled tribute and became alliance with
Mexican mafia and other southern Hispanic street gangs
o some members maintain active ties with family members and MS factions in
Central America and Mexico
o one point were source of automatic weapons but not is not currently true
o 70% of central American youth who join gang are members of MS 13 or Mara 18
(18th street)
o lation street gangs present in central america in late 1950s
o mano dura and super mano dura suppression programs were started to control
gang violence in central america and arrest gang members in el Salvador and
Honduras
o central American anti gang laws were referred to as draconian measures
o some had vertical structure
o east coast ms had no formal ties with west coast, they were all from east coast,
and became more organized
o some tattooed swp – Salvadorians with pride
o to compete with east coast gangs, ms 13 turned to violence , then main focus was
to unify against east coast gangs
o ranfla – committee of gang members that collect money and make decisions for
the gang while in custody, each member is called ranflero, main is located in
zacateclouca prison in el Salvador
o ran by shot caller and has a program
baras
o fans for Honduras soccer team, four barras, divided into smaller cliques called
penas
o ultra fiel – Olympia soccer
o revos – matgaua soccer team, cliques called banas or commandas
o mega locos – espana
o vampiras – all females
o members drawn from youth population
o made homemade firearms known as hechizas or chimbas