The 18th Street Gang , also known as Calle 18, Barrio 18, La18, or Mara-18 in Central America [1] [2] [3] , is a multi-ethnic, international criminal group consisting mainly of Hispanics originally born in the 1960s. like a street gang in the Rampart district of the American city of Los Angeles in California . It is considered the largest international criminal gang in Los Angeles: it is estimated that there are more than 10 thousand bandits of this gang in Los Angeles alone.
| 18th street gang (Gang from the 18th street)  | |
|---|---|
| Location | Los Angeles |
| Years of activity | from the 1960s to the present |
| Territory | mainly Los Angeles , California , western and southern US and Central American countries |
| Ethnic composition | mainly Mexicans and natives of Central America |
| Membership | more than 30,000 |
| Criminal activity | drug trafficking , robbery , murder , kidnapping , extortion , fraud , arms trade , human trafficking , racketeering , theft , money laundering , illegal immigration , falsification of documents , gambling |
| Allies | Mexican Mafia , Los Setas , Crips |
| Opponents | Mara Salvatrucha , Clanton 14 , Bloods , Pirus , Death Battles Black Shadow |
Content
Structure
According to the latest data from the NDIC, there are approximately 200 separate 18th Street Gang autonomous “brigades” operating in the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, South Bay, East Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, and Central Los Angeles, Downtown, Pico Union, Inglewood, Kadahi , Lynwood, South Gate, Huntington Park, Maywood and Orange County.
Most 18th Street brigades operating throughout southern California were created by gang members from Los Angeles who migrate to other areas and establish their own brigades. Eighteenth Street has become the largest and fastest growing gang in Oregon.
18th Street Brigades operate in 11 countries, including Mexico , El Salvador , Honduras and Guatemala, and 120 cities in 37 US states, in particular the District of Columbia . Some “gangs”: Hollywood Gangsters, Pico Gangsters, Block 106, CLCS (Columbia Lil Caicos), Great View, Mac Arthur Park, Smile Drive, Shatto Park, Central South, Rancho Park, Cudahy, Malditos in Orange County, there is also a female "team." About 15,000 gang members from 18th Street operate in Los Angeles County, and they are divided into two virtually independent large groups.
In May 2013, after eight months of negotiations in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, a ceasefire was concluded between Mara Salvatrucha and M-18, which were guaranteed by the local bishop and the Organization of American States.
Criminal activity
18th Street Gang is a well-organized gang involved in all areas of street crime. The main source of income for the group is the street trade in cocaine and marijuana , their activities also include murders, contract killings, extortion, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, assaults, human trafficking, apartment and car thefts, robberies, arms trafficking and other crimes.
According to Special Agent George Rodriguez, this group is one of the most violent street gangs in the United States. On average, gangsters from this group commit an attack or a robbery every day in Los Angeles County.
The group has committed more than 250 murders in the city of Los Angeles in the past 10 years - three times more than many of the city’s most active gangs.
Fighting the group
Due to the scope of activities and widespread fame, the group came to the attention of such agencies as the FBI and the US Immigration and Customs Police , which in the mid-2000s initiated a series of large-scale raids against prominent alleged members of the group, which led to hundreds of arrests throughout the country . According to the FBI, the number of active members of the Gang from 18th Street is about 6,500 people, operating in about 120 cities in 37 US states. It is also known that the Gang from 18th Street and their main opponent - the gang of Mara Salvatrucha - actually subjugated the criminal world of El Salvador .
Allies and Enemies of the Group
Allies of the Gang from 18th Street are Crips , the Mexican Mafia and the Los Setas drug cartel, the opponents are Bloods , Clanton 14 and Mara Salvatrucha . [4] [5] .
Mentions in popular culture
- Documentary film “An inside look. Mafia Code ”, episode 1 (2013) of the Discovery Channel .
Notes
- ↑ Lynch, TW (2008). "The evolution of modern Central American street gangs and the political violence they present: Case studies of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras." Theses and Dissertations. Paper 370. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/370
- ↑ US Department of Homeland Securtiy, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (2011). Hsi dismantles '18th street' gang's fraudulent document ring. Retrieved from website: http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1109/110909newyork.htm
- ↑ Berlin, D., Brizius, E., Bump, M., Garshelis, D., Khonsari, N., Pinheiro, E., Rhudy, K., & Smith, J. (2007). Between the border and the street: A comparative look at gang reduction policies and migration in the united states and guatemala. Informally published manuscript, Georgetown University Law Center, Human Rights Institute, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=hri_papers
- ↑ US DOJ, FBI, Headline Archives, Violent Gang - Officials Discuss Fight Against Violent Crime, FBI Web page, available at http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan07/gangs011607.htm
- ↑ 18th Street Gang in Los Angeles County | Shatto park | Columbia Lil Cycos | Alsace | Red shield | South central | Smiley Dr | Rimpau | 106th | Grand view | Street Gangs Resource Center . Streetgangs.com. Date of treatment February 16, 2012. Archived January 9, 2013.