April 12, 2010

Mexican Mafia: The Most Dangerous Gang

http://www.policemag.com/Blog/Gangs/Story/2010/04/Mexican-Mafia-The-Most-Dangerous-Gang.aspx

Surenos you encounter are taking their orders from a higher authority.

by Richard Valdemar - Also by this author

A confiscated prison drawing should warn LEOs about the dangers of the Surenos and
their prison-gang masters, the Mexican Mafia.

A few years ago, a well-regarded national magazine published a cover story, entitled
"America's Most Dangerous Gang," giving MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) this distinction. In
the 1980s, the Los Angeles-based Crips and Blood gangs seemed to be competing for
the title.

However, if you consider that the 500 Los Angeles Hispanic gangs outnumbered the
combined armies of all the Crips and Blood gangs by more than double; the Southern
California Hispanic gangs are united under the umbrella "Sureños;" and that Sureños
include the three biggest gangs—Florence 13, 18th Street and rival Mara Salvatrucha
13—you might give that title to the Sureños.

In Southern California, the Sureño gangs are the most active criminally, and the most
prolific in gang killings by far. The African-American gangs are normally the victims of
Sureños in hate-crime incidents, and the Sureños are invading Northern California cities
by the hundreds, not vice versa.

The Sureños serve their masters—the Mexican Mafia (known as La Eme, the letter "M"
in Spanish) prison gang. This alliance is the most dangerous prison gang and disruptive
group combination. They control the majority of the California Department of
Corrections facilities. In and out of custody, if one Eme member or Sureño becomes
involved in a fight with law enforcement, all Sureños are required to assist the gang
member against the police. Any Sureño in the vicinity must assault any other cop or
prison staff member in the area. This Eme-Sureño coalition is rapidly gaining footholds
in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The American media and even law enforcement, unfamiliar with the dynamics of real
prison gangs, often try to compare these apples to oranges. Prison gangs are a
quantum leap from street gangs, no matter how big or how powerful the street gang
may be. Only traditional organized crime and large drug cartels can compare.

The prison gang's power over street gangs was dramatically illustrated in an incident
that occurred in November of 1995.

Two years earlier, the Mexican Mafia had issued three edicts to Southern California
Hispanic street gangs: Take over drug areas formally controlled by African-American
gangs; tax illegal-alien drug dealers operating in Sureño controlled areas; and stop
drive-by shootings. This was publically advertised in the newspapers, on radio and on
TV as a "Hispanic peace initiative."

It was actually an attempt to reduce collateral casualties in the gang wars that drew
unfriendly public attention and heavy police response that was interfering with their
lucrative drug business. The gangs were encouraged to continue killing in face-to-face
"walk-ups."

But the drive-by tactic was a bad habit that was hard to break for old school Latino
cholo gangs. Some young unsophisticated gang members failed to take the Mexican
Mafia's edicts seriously. These gangsters became human pin cushions in jail after being
arrested by the cops.

The Florence 13 (F-13) gang dates back to the early '50s and dominates a wide
geographic area in South Los Angeles. This major Hispanic gang had expanded from its
traditional Florence District to the southeastern suburbs of Cudahy, Bell Gardens,
Maywood, Bell and Huntington Park. It had become an international, or "transnational,"
gang that spread across the country (a restaurant in New York bears the gang name)
and into Europe, and South America. Florence drug dealers sold multiple kilos and had
connections to major drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. But they are also Sureños
loyal to the Mexican Mafia.

In October of 1995, Florence gang members Ricardo Perez, 21, Cesar Merino, 21, and
Jose Munguia, 20, drove up to a Huntington Park residence. Jose Munguia opened up
on the residence with an AK-47 from the vehicle. On the front porch, 11-year-old Erica
Izquierdo was swinging on a hammock with her father when she was fatally hit in the
head by the AK round. Luis Lopez, 15, and Adrian Garcia, 14, were also struck by the F-
13's bullets, but they survived.

Ten days later, Perez and Merino got a visit from a Mexican Mafia member. The Eme
member demanded to know just who had fired the fatal shots. Unlike in the American
legal system, the two gang members did not have the right to remain silent, or not to
incriminate themselves. They quickly ratted out their homeboy Munguia to their demon
master.

The Mexican Mafia boss required the death penalty for the drive-by child murder. He
made them the classic "offer they could not refuse." They were ordered to murder their
own friend and homeboy, or the entire F-13 gang would be on the Mexican Mafia's
"green light" murder hit list.

Some say that this mysterious Eme enforcer rode with two young Florencia (Spanish for
Florence) members to their homeboy's house. At about 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday, one
of the homeboys knocked on the front door and politely asked Jose Munguia's mother if
his friend could come out on the porch to speak to him.

When Munguia stepped out on the porch, his two F-13 homeboys executed him with
multiple gun shots to his head and body. The family cried in utter disbelief as the two
dutiful assassins drove away. They were arrested later that same day, and I was called
to testify in their trial. My expert gang testimony involved explaining to the jury what
could motivate the suspects to kill their childhood friend in cold blood. After a very
emotional plea by the parents, both young gang members were convicted and
sentenced to long terms in prison. They are probably on Eme's fast track to Mexican
Mafia membership, "putting in work" behind bars, killing for their Eme masters.

No matter which big bad bloody band of barrio bad boys you might be dealing with, I'll
bet they are taking their orders from prison-gang inmates. And when one prison gang
member can walk with immunity into some street gang's turf and order them to murder
one of their own, that's a clue. F-13, 18th Street and MS-13 all pay taxes to and obey
the codes of conduct dictated by the Mexican Mafia.

So ask yourself, who is the most dangerous gang?

Tags: 18th Street, Corrections, Drive-by Shootings, Florence 13, Mexican Mafia, MS-13, Prison
Gangs, Surenos

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