8j Mexican Mafia

Mexican Mafia

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The Mexican Mafia (Spanish: Mafia Mexicana), also known as La Eme (Spanish for "the M"), is a highly organized Mexican American criminal organization in the United States. Despite its name, the Mexican Mafia did not originate in Mexico, and is entirely a U.S. criminal prison organization. Law enforcement officials report that the Mexican Mafia is the most powerful gang within the California prison system. Government officials state that there are currently 350–400 official members of the Mexican Mafia with around 990 associates who also carry out its illegal activities in the hopes of becoming full members. 

History


The Mexican Mafia was formed in 1957 by 13 Hispanic street gang members from different Los Angeles neighborhoods who were all incarcerated at the Deuel Vocational Institution, a California Youth Authority facility, which is now an adult state prison in Tracy, California. They formed in order to protect themselves from other prison gangs at the time. One of the founders of La Eme is Luis "Huero Buff" Flores, who was an active member of the Barrio Hawaiian Gardens gang in Hawaiian Gardens, California. Gang warfare between Hispanic neighborhoods was the norm during the 1950s and 60s, so the fact that Luis Flores was able to get established enemies to set aside their rivalries upon entry into the prison system was something that was not thought possible. This requirement exists to the present day. Hispanic street gangs like White Fence, The Avenues, Clanton 14, San Fer, Barrio Nuevo Estrada, and the oldest of them, Primera Flats, were already into their second decade and firmly established as self-sustaining entities. Luis Flores initially recruited violent members to the gang in an attempt to create a highly feared organization which could control the black market activities of the Deuel prison facilities. La Eme member Ramon "Mundo" Mendoza claims that in the beginning the overall goal was to terrorize the prison system and enjoy prison comforts while doing time. It is said that the name "Mexican Mafia" was to show organization similar to the American Mafia but it was later changed to not be confused with it. Furthermore, the black hand symbol was a reference to the Black Hand of the early 20th century. 


Rise


By 1961, violence got so bad at the Deuel Vocational Institution that administrators transferred a number of the charter La Eme members to San Quentin Penitentiary in the hopes of discouraging their violent behavior. This tactic failed. Cheyenne Cadena arrived on the lower yard of San Quentin and was met by a six-foot-five, 300-pound black inmate who kissed him. Cadena returned a short time later, walked up to the unsuspecting predator, and stabbed him to death with a jailhouse knife, or Shiv. There were more than a thousand inmates on the yard and no witnesses stepped forward. 


A string of other slayings soon followed as Mexican Mafia members sought to establish a reputation among the inmates of San Quentin. The Mexican Mafia's quest for complete control alienated many other Mexican-American inmates who were fed up with Mexican Mafia stabbing, killing, and stealing their watches, rings, cigarettes and anything else of value. Some of them secretly founded a new prison gang called Nuestra Familia (NF) or "Our Family." It was first established in the mid-1960s at the California Correctional Training Facility in Soledad. Some of the early members were from the Los Angeles area, but NF soon drew inmates primarily from rural communities in Northern California. The Mexican Mafia saw Nuestra Familia as inferior and "just a bunch of farmers", or farmeros. However, in 1968 at San Quentin, a full-scale riot broke out after a Mexican Mafia soldier, or soldado, stole a pair of shoes from a Nuestra Familia sympathizer. Nineteen inmates were stabbed and one La Eme associate ended up dead. The battle became known as the "Shoe War" and it established Nuestra Familia as the major La Eme rival. 

New Mexican Mafia

The Mexican Mafia is the controlling organization for almost every Hispanic gang in Southern California, and some gangs located in Central and Northern California, with their vassal gangs being called Sureños. Members of almost all Hispanic gangs in Southern California are obliged under the threat of death to carry out any and all orders from made Mexican Mafia members. The Mexican Mafia also holds a loose alliance with the Aryan Brotherhood, mainly due to their common rivals within the prison system. 



The primary rivals of the Mexican Mafia are Nuestra Familia. The Mexican Mafia is also a rival of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang, which holds a loose alliance with La Nuestra Familia. Bloods and Crips are the new enemies. 

Culture

Law enforcement believes that La Eme presently is not presided over by a single leader. Many Mexican Mafia members have the authority to order murders and oversee various other criminal activities. They have almost a thousand associates that help carry out those orders and have the theoretical control of all Sureño gang members. Members are expected to engage in tests of their loyalty to La Eme, which may include theft or murder. The penalty for refusing orders or failing to complete an assigned task is often death. According to the gang's constitution, members may also be punished or murdered if they commit any of four major infractions. These include becoming an informant, acts of homosexuality, acts of cowardice, and showing disrespect against fellow gang members. According to gang policy, a member of the Mexican Mafia may not be murdered without prior approval by a vote of three members, yet the murder of non-members requires no formal approval. 


During the early 1960s at San Quentin Prison, Luis Flores and Rudy "Cheyenne" Cadena established a blood oath for members of the Mexican Mafia. Prior to the establishment of the oath, members of the Mexican Mafia were allowed to return to their street gangs after incarceration. The new oath stipulated that the only way for a member to leave the Mexican Mafia was to be killed. Flores and Cadena also established a set of gang commandments. These included policies such as: a new member must be sponsored by an existing member, unanimous approval from all existing members to join (no longer policy), prioritizing the gang over one's family, denial of the existence of the Mexican Mafia to law enforcement or non-members, respect of other members, and forgiving street conflicts which existed before incarceration. Execution of a member of the gang for policy violation must be committed by the gang member who sponsored him. La Eme has a blood-in, blood-out credo: Murder or drawing of blood is a prerequisite for membership and anyone trying to get out will be killed. 


Rules



The rules of conduct are: 

  1. A member may not be an informant, or rat.
  2. A member may not be a coward.
  3. A member may not raise a hand against another member without approval.
  4. A member must not show disrespect for any member's family, including sex with another member's wife, or girlfriend.
  5. A member must not steal from another member.
  6. A member may not be homosexual.
  7. A member must not politic against another member or cause dissension within the organization.
  8. Membership is for life.
  9. It's mandatory to assault/kill all dropouts.
  10. La Eme comes first. Even before your own family.
  11. A member must not interfere with another member's business activities.[14] 


Allies and rivals

While Nuestra Familia is primarily a Chicano gang, membership sometimes extends to other Latinos as well as non-Latinos. Members of the organization are considered to have taken a "blood oath" to join the gang, and are considered lifelong participants. Nuestra Familia's written constitution allegedly states that no member should prioritize women, money or drugs over their membership in the gang. Membership in the gang extends beyond prison. Women are not allowed to become full-fledged members of Nuestra Familia, but are sometimes used for communication and drug-running purposes as they are considered less likely to be noticed by law enforcement agents. The NF has a formal written constitution and claims about 2000 inmate members.

Symbols

Mexican Mafia symbols include images of a black hand. The gang's primary symbol, which is often used in tattoos by members, is the national symbol of Mexico (eagle and a snake) atop a flaming circle over crossed knives. Street gangs that are aligned with the Mexican Mafia often use the number 13 as a gang identifier, as the letter "M" is the 13th letter of the modern Latin-derived alphabet. 


Criminal activities

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Mexican Mafia had arranged for contract killings to be carried out by the Aryan Brotherhood, a white prison gang. Both the Mexican Mafia and the Aryan Brotherhood are mutual enemies of the African-American gangs Black Guerrilla Family and D.C. Blacks. Even though homosexuals are barred from entry into La Eme, they are engaged heavily in homosexual prostitution in the prison system. Many of the street level homicides in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles committed by the Avenues gang were done on orders issued by the Mexican Mafia. 



The Mexican Mafia is involved in a variety of criminal activities both inside and outside the prison system, but its main source of income is extorting drug distributors outside prison and distributing various narcotics within and outside the prison system. In 1992, an example of La Eme's influence and power over Sureños was made clear to law enforcement. Joe Morgan, a prominent Mexican Mafia leader, ordered that no more drive-by shootings and violence were to take place by Sureños. Between April, when the edict was announced, and September 1992 there were no drive-by shootings in East Los Angeles, an area that was notorious for violence and drive-bys.


The following is from a source that has knowledge about the inner working of La Eme and other gangs, including rivalries, and associated gangs.


The questions below were asked by law enforcement officers.  The responses were provided by the source.


1: Can I get information on the Paisa group?

The paisa groups in California are part of the EMEs’ infrastructure. They have 2 organized groups within the Paisas known as the Nopales (Spanish for cactus) and Border Brothers Trece. As a collective group the paisas support all Sureño/EME activity and pay homage to the organization.


2. Is the Blue Note Organization a sub-set prison gang of the Crips?

Yes the Blue Notes are an organized sub-set of the Crips as are the Consolidated Crip Organization (CCO). Both groups formed in the 80s’ in response to a fading BGF influence within its Black inmate population within California prisons and as a response to the continuous conflict/war with the Sureños/EME.


3. What is the significance of the "red lips kiss" used as a symbol by the Two Five PC (protective custody) gang or the Sureños?

I’m not certain. Please note that the red lips are not exclusively worn by these two groups. The 25 also use a Black Hand tattoo with a 2 in the center of the palm, each finger represents one for a collective of 2 and five. They also use the tattoo of a quarter, and the words OME MAQUILLI (Nahuatl for 2 and 5)


4. I would specifically like to know what Califas think of the Ariza 13 (Arizona Mexican Mafia)? Do they view AZ Eme as separate, or as a part of their vision "to unite all Sureños"? Either way, is there a tax structure in place and/or common cartel dope contacts? If Califas Eme considers itself apart, what goals/penetration do they have in AZ?

The California, Federal, and Old Arizona faction do not accept the New Arizona faction as allies. The only recognized faction in AZ. is the Pete Moreno faction. The Pete Moreno faction is in its infancy and does not have the influence or power that the other recognized faction have yet. They do not have the taxation program in place that all other factions do but they have the support of the other bona fide appendages. There are no common MDTO drug connections. Each Carnal establishes ties to MDTOs on their own if they have ties they keep them within the structure of their crew.


5. What role does the MS-13 have in La Eme?

At one point MS-13 was on the Green Light list. They now are accepted as Sureños and most importantly consider themselves Sureños even after deportation. The acceptance of MS-13 into the infrastructure takes the EME to a transnational level.


6. What sparked the racial divide between Sureños and all others?

Typically most conflicts sparked by Sureños and other groups is not based on racist EME ideology. Rather the conflicts are a display of raw power to the rest of the population. That is not to say that some EME members are not racist, and that some Sureños do not participate in hate crimes because they are and do. The EMEs’ philosophy is to destroy any person or group that opposes their authority. They believe that ferocity, not numbers creates power.


7. Is the California La Eme connected with or antagonistic of other states Eme's ie: Texas Syndicate, AZ Eme, Barrio Azteca, etc?

The EME considers these other groups to be emulators and targets them for murder when possible. Although some EME members in federal custody want to co-opt members from these groups to create a National organization the plan has fallen short of realization to date.


8. Does the 18th St. fall under the Sureño umbrella being that they have small numbers of non-Hispanic members?

Yes. 18 St. has a high degree of EME representation with three 18 St, gang members currently as fully fledged members. Most importantly the members are influential. The EME has begun to accept other ethnic group into the fold as evidenced by its acceptance of MS-13 and Armenian Power as Sureños.


9. Has the Mexican Mafia ever had any help from the Sicilian Mafia to learn how to properly launder money, also, did they put in any work for the Sicilian Mafia on the west coast? I know the Sicilian Mafia had used outlaw biker s for some work, but I'm not convinced that La Eme was in their pocket, at one time.

Yes. In the 1960s’ and 70s the EME had strong ties with La Cosa Nostra Members Jimmy Capolla and James Fratiano. Jimmy the Weasel later rolled over on his organization and Jimmy Capolla was stabbed to death by a Sureño in Folsom state prison on order from a Mexican Member. The organization has learned to launder money on its own and has advanced business practices in use now through it horizontal integration into the Hispanic gang sub-culture and its establishment of a vertical leadership structure for Sureños on the street and in prison.


10. Has La Eme ever had a "working" relationship with the Border Brothers?

Yes the EME has had ties with MDTOs (Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations) and continues to cultivate those relationships today. The first EME members to become truly successful with the Cartels were Bat Marquez and Popeye Barron. Other members have followed their footsteps and have built relationships with existing drug trafficking organizations.



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