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Anthony Allen
Mr. Evans
Latino Gangs
30 September 2014
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Table of Contents
I. La Mara Salvatrucha 13
II. Sureness 13 y 18 ST
III. Latin Kings
IV. Nortenos(a.k.a CHAPS)
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Hey my name is Anthony and this is my introduction to Latino gangs. A lot of people that
you’re a bad person if you’re in a gang I’m here to say that’s not true! Growing up I was exposed
to the gang life at a very young age thru my family, cousins, and parents, everywhere u went
there was somebody getting shot hurt or something. I have had a lot of my family members and
friends that have died but they didn’t die for no reason as my people say (mi Vida loca) it mean
my crazy life in Spanish which mean everyone is going to die one day but it’s up to you to make
sure that it don’t happen.
The first topic of my research paper is the best and badest gang in the world and that’s la
Mara salvatrucha otherwise known as ms-13. All this happened in the 1980s when the civil war
invaded El Salvador. They won’t even a gang at first they were soldiers from El Salvador that
came to America after the civil war but the thing is that no Mexicans or Americans liked the
Salvadorians because they were not of their kind. There were at least 600 political murders and
at least 100,000 more killed in el Salvador so the army of Salvadorians formed la Mara
salvatrucha, and there motto was an eye for an eye, and there mission was to kill all their
enemies in el Salvador. The FBI has found ms-13 gang members in 31 states
all over the world such as Mexico, Honduras, Spain, Australia and many
more. The reason the police say that they are the badest gang is because they
are cold blooded killers they have a never ending source of guns, ammo,
anything you name they got it, they have even used knives and machetes to
get the job done. This woman is Brenda Paz she was a pregnant 17
years old but also an ms-13 gang member. She was found by a river
in northern Virginia. And this is the man accused of killing her (my
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cousin) Ishmael Perez Allen. And that shows why they are the baldest gang in the world
(Stockwell). Gang members armed with machetes hacked away at a member of the South Side
Locos, slicing off some of his fingers and leaving others dangling by a shred of skin. Only a
week later in Herndon, a member of the 18th Street gang was pumped full of .38-caliber bullets,
while his female companion, who tried to flee, was shot in the back. The assailant, according to a
witness, had a large tattoo emblazoned on his forehead. It read MS,"MS 13"
The next topic on my list is my favorite and they are the Sureños 13 they were originated
in the 1970s before la Mara was founded. The surenos are a very respectful gang because we will
kill you and not care but the thing is not to disrespect us. There are a few gangs that are our allies
they are the Mexican mafia, MS-13, 18ST. The surenos pay tribute to the Mexican mafia by their
number 13 because the 13 letter in the alphabet is “M”. The surenos are a very popular gang and
well know and they are very respected by other gangs except for the Latin kings and the north
side boys. Sureños (Spanish for "Southerners") are a group of Mexican American street gangs
with origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California. There are hundreds of Sureño gangs in
California, and each has its own identity on the streets. Although they are based in Southern
California, their influence has spread to various parts of the U.S. and other countries as well.
The term “sureños” describes gangs professing allegiance to a gang set in southern
California. The term was first used in the 1970s as a result of a California prison war between the
Mexican Mafia (La EME) and Nuestra Familia (NF). This war resulted in a territorial division
between gang members from northern California (Nortenos = northerners) who aligned with NF,
and those from southern California (sureños = southerners) aligned with La EME (gang
prevention ). Sureños emblems and clothing are based on the color blue (gang prevention ). A
typical Sureño outfit might include, blue, silver, and white and their favorite sports team apparel
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that shows their affiliation (gang prevention ). Sureños use the number 13 in tattoos and graffiti.
It is sometimes written as "X3” or in Roman numerals as "XIII" (Sur13 or Sur XIII) (gang
prevention ). Some Sureños will tattoo themselves with three dots. Sureños derogatorily refers to
a Nortenos as a "Buster" or "Chap" (Chapete). Another form of Southside is 18 ST Many looks
at 18th Street as one monolithic super-gang whether it’s on a local, national or international scale
but 18th Street is more of an identity that several unconnected neighborhoods fall under. Similar
to the Crip or Blood identity, 18th Street is not one gang (gang prevention ). Even on a micro
scale in Los Angeles, the 20 different 18th Street gangs do not operate as one, are not unified,
nor do they even all know each other, so they should be looked at as individual independent
autonomous gang neighborhoods.
18th Street, [Bebitos (BBS)] – Los Angeles – Northeast 18th Street, [7th & Broadway] – Los
Angeles – downtown Northside 18th Street, [Cyclones (CCNS), Mid Valley Gangsters (MVGS),
Friar Locos (FRLS), Pequeños (PQS), PeeWee Winos (PWS), Tiny Vets (TVS), (DMGS),
Pachucos (PQS)] – Los Angeles – North Hollywood Westside 18th Street, [51st, 54th, Tiny
Winos] – Los Angeles – South LA 18th Street, [Columbia Lil Cycos (CLCS), 3rd Street
Gangsters] – Los Angeles – Westlake 18th Street, [Pico Locos (PLS), Grand View (GVLS),
Hoover Tiny Locos (HVLS), Red Shield (RS)] – Los Angeles – Pico Union South Central 18th
Street, [Wall Street Gangsters (WST/WSTG), Los Gangsters (LGS)] – Los Angeles - South LA
18th Street, [Shatto Park Locos (SPLs), Siete (7), Shadow] – Los Angeles – Westlake 18th Street
[Los Players] – Los Angeles – South LA 18th Street, [Smiley Drive, Alsace, Tiny Malditos, Lil
Lowks, Rancho Park (RPK)] – Los Angeles – South LA 18th Street, [TLS] – Los Angeles –
South LA, Jefferson Park 18th Street, [Rimpau] – Los Angeles – Midtown 18th Street, [King
Blvd Gangsters (KBGS)] – Los Angeles – South LA 18th Street Hollywood Gangsters (HGS),
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[Tiny Locos (TLS), Tiny Winos (TWS)]– Los Angeles – Hollywood 18th Street 106th, [Tiny
Winos (TWS), (CSGS)] – Inglewood Southside 18th Street, Baldwin Park 18th Street, South
Gate 18th Street, [Kdubs (KWS), Diablos, Midget Locos, Tiny Winos] – Cudahy 18th Street,
[Tiny Devils] – Bellflower 18th Street, [Eagle Locs, Crazy Mexican (CM)] – Long Beach there
are all sorts or clique as you can see above they aint just south side but they all rep the blue flag
(gang prevention ).
The Latin kings are a Chicago born gang they came about around the 1960s they wear
black yellow and sometimes grey (Stockwell). Their members are mainly pueta Rican. The Latin
Kings have a hierarchical organizational structure, and they have sets in numerous states across
the country. These sets are referred to as "chapters" or "tribes," with each reporting to an Inca,
Cacíque, Enforcer and Regional Officer (Stockwell).
The head (or heads) of the entire criminal organization are known as "Coronas" (crowns in
Spanish). Their colors are black and gold; gang markings consist of a 5 or 3-point crown,
writings of LK, ALK, ALKN, ALKQN abbreviations (or the whole words), and drawings of the
Lion and/or the King Master (Stockwell). Latin King Symbolism is usually accompanied with
the name and number of the chapter, region or city of the gang (Stockwell). The Latin Kings are
of the People Nation, and therefore, represent everything to the "right" in opposition to the "left,"
which is representative of the "Folk Nation" (Champ). Latin King documents reveal that Gino
Gustavo Colon (a.k.a. "Lord Gino") is considered the "SUN" of the Almighty Latin King Nation
in Chicago and has been for a long time (Stockwell). Currently he is serving a life sentence in
federal prison due to a 25-count indictment, which includes charges of conspiracy to distribute
cocaine and other drugs.
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Latin King Headquarters is located on Beach and Spaulding in Northwest Chicago
(Stockwell). Luis Felipe (a.k.a. King Blood) started his own chapter of the Almighty Latin King
and Queen Nation with the permission of his superiors in Chicago (Stockwell). The Latin Kings
are well known for their involvement in violent crimes, murder and the distribution of drugs.
Currently their primary source of income is from the street level distribution of cocaine, heroin,
and marijuana. Members consider themselves to be a community-based organization. Some King
chapters even have formed their own religion called Kingdism. They are known to use church
after school programs to recruit new members. During meetings, members may recite the Latin
King pledge, prayer and continually pledge to be prepared to rise to the call for their King or
Inca (Champ). These meetings are often used by members to plan retaliation against other gangs.
So even gangs have their own religions they even worship the flag they bang.
My last and finial topic is the Nortenos there are the least popular and if it won’t a Latino
gang I wouldn’t be writing about them but any way In 1968 Mexican American inmates of the
California state prison system separated into two rival groups, Nortenos (northerners ]and
Sureños (southerners), according to the locations of their hometowns (the north–south dividing
line is Bakersfield , California). Nortenos, affiliated with the Nuestra Familia, were prison
enemies of the Southern Latinos, who are composed of members and affiliates of La Eme, better
known as the Mexican Mafia (prison offenders).
While the Mexican Mafia had initially been created to protect Mexicans in prison, there was
a perceived level of abuse by members of La Eme towards the imprisoned Latinos from rural
farming areas of Northern California (prison offenders). The spark that led to the ongoing war
between Norteños and members of the Mexican Mafia involved a situation in which a member of
La Eme allegedly stole a pair of shoes from a Northerner. This event put into motion the longest-
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running gang war in the state of California. Norteños use the number 14 which represents the
fourteenth letter of the alphabet, the letter N, in order to pay allegiance to Nuestra Familia
(prison offenders). It is sometimes written in Roman numerals as XIV, or a hybrid of Roman and
Arabic numerals, X4. Norteño emblems and clothing are based on the color red, and sometimes
black. A typical Norteño outfit is being "flamed up" including a red belt, red shoes, and red
shoelaces (prison offenders).They will also favor sports team apparel that shows their affiliation
through symbolism such as the Chicago Bulls, UNLV, K-Swiss, Raiders, and San Francisco
49ers. Some Norteños will tattoo themselves with four dots .
A Norteño derogatorily refers to a Sureño as a "scrap" (Hispanicized scrapa) or "Sur (sewer)
rat". Norteños also lay claim to images of the Mexican-American labor movement, such as the
sombrero, machete, and "Huelga bird," symbols of the United Farm Workers. Unlike their
Southern rivals, Norteños align themselves with black gangs such as the Black Guerilla Family,
Crips, and Bloods, mostly in Prison Facilities, due to sharing common enemies in The Mexican
Mafia and Aryan Brotherhood (prison offenders). There are also sub groups or gang such as the
nortenos (prison offenders) .
The Northern Structure is a sub group of the Nuestra Familia and carries out most of the
NF’s dirty work (prison offenders). Nuestra Familia leaders decided to organize a structure
division called “Nuestra Raza”, more commonly known as “Northern Structure” (prison
offenders). The new branch would serve as a prospect base for those interested in joining Nuestra
Familia (prison offenders). Northern Structure prospects would have to earn membership into NF
by following the gang’s orders (prison offenders). Gang hits were always handed down to
Northern Structure prospects and gave wanna be’s the opportunity of proving themselves to the
NF. Before a sponsored prospect can qualify as a member of the NF, the offender must gain
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knowledge of the gang’s constitution officially known as the “XIV Bonds” (prison offenders).
The Northern Structure became the ears of the senior Nuestra Familia and was required to deal
drugs for its father hierarchy. Northern Structure sold drugs in the streets and brought in funds
for ranking NF members behind bars (prison offenders).
And that concludes my research paper on Latino gang so that goes to show that Latino and
black gangs have different rules.
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Works Cited
Champ, Paul Wall Da People's. Latin Kings. 21 December 2009. Web. 2 0ctober 2014.
Gang Prevention . n.d. web. 13 3 2013.
Prison Offenders. n.d. web. 3 october 2014.
Stockwell, Jamie. The Washington Post . 22 January 2005. Web. October 2014.