Mexican Mafia

This article is about the U.S. criminal organization. For criminal organizations in Mexico, see Category:Organized crime groups in Mexico and Drug cartels § Mexico.
Mexican Mafia
The primary symbol used by La eMe
Founded1957; 67 years ago (1957)[1][2][3][4]
FounderLuis "Huero Buff" Flores[1]
Founding locationDeuel Vocational Institution, California, United States[1][3][4]
Years active1957–present[1]
TerritoryWest Coast and Southwestern United States,[5] and throughout the federal prison system[6] and California prison system[6]
EthnicityMexican American[5]
Membership250-300 "made" members[6][7]
ActivitiesDrug trafficking, extortion, illegal gambling, prostitution, assault and murder[5]
Allies
Rivals
Notable members

The Mexican Mafia (Spanish: Mafia Mexicana), also known as La eMe (Spanish for "the M"), is a predominantly Mexican American prison gang and criminal organization in the United States.[1][3] Despite its name, the Mexican Mafia has no origins in Mexico and is entirely a U.S. organization. Law enforcement officials report that the Mexican Mafia is the deadliest and most powerful gang within the California prison system.[29]

Government officials state that there are currently 350–500 official members of the Mexican Mafia [30] with thousands of hitmen and associates within prison and an estimate of more than 50,000 loyal foot soldiers who also carry out its illegal activities on the streets in the hopes of becoming full members. The Mexican Mafia has immense influence and control over every Hispanic street gang in Southern California, including the notoriously brutal MS-13 and 18th Street Gang, since in the prison system inmates are recruited into gangs based on race regardless of street gang affiliation. The U.S. Government considers the Mexican Mafia to be "among the most powerful, dangerous and feared criminal organizations in the world".[7]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Mexican Mafia". Gangland. The History Channel. 2012. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  2. ^ Rafael, T. (2007). The Mexican Mafia. p. 171–185, 237–267. New York: Encounter Books.
  3. ^ a b c d Mallory, Stephen L. (2012). Understanding organized crime (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. pp. 218–220. ISBN 9781449622572.
  4. ^ a b Ortega, F. (February 8, 2008). Mexican mafia's roots run deep in san gabriel valley. The Whittier Daily News. Retrieved from "Mexican Mafia's roots run deep in San Gabriel Valley - Whittier Daily News". Archived from the original on April 10, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Prison Gangs justice.gov (May 11, 2015)
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Lawrence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b U.S. v. Shryock casetext.com (June 2, 2003) Archived May 24, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ a b Roots of the Armenian Power Gang Richard Valdemar, policemag.com (March 1, 2011) Archived March 27, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "California Prison Gangs - The Price of Control". December 1982. Retrieved January 25, 2023. Archived January 25, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ La Cosa Nostra: Alive and Kicking Richard Valdemar, PoliceMag.com (March 14, 2011) Archived April 27, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Christie 2016, p. 130.
  12. ^ Former Prison Gang Leader Killed on Street Julian Guthrie, San Francisco Chronicle (March 25, 2001) Archived January 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Morales, Gabriel C. (2013). The history of the Mexican Mafia : (la eMe). Scotts Valley, California: Create Space Independent Publishers. ISBN 978-1492711674.
  14. ^ Langton, Jerry (2011). Gangland : the rise of the Mexican drug cartels from El Paso to Vancouver. Mississauga, Ont.: J. Wiley & Sons Canada. pp. 118–146. ISBN 978-1118014271.
  15. ^ Chrystal, Chris (October 22, 1980). "Aladena 'Jimmy the Weasel' Fratianno boasted in a taped..." Los Angeles: UPI. Archived March 1, 2024, at archive.today
  16. ^ a b c Florida Department of Corrections. "Prison Gangs (continued) – Gangs and Security Threat Group Awareness". Florida Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  17. ^ The Infamous ‘One Percenters’: A Review of the Criminality, Subculture, and Structure of Modern Biker Gangs Danielle Shields (2012) Archived November 29, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Bryjak, G. J.; Barkan, S. E. (2011). Fundamentals of criminal justice : a sociological view. Sudbury, Massacheusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 115. ISBN 9780763754242.
  19. ^ Blankstein, A., & Linthicum, K. (February 17, 2011). Raids targeting armenian gang net 74 fraud suspects. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-feb-17-la-me-0217-armenian-gang-20110217-story.html
  20. ^ Barkan, Steven; Bryjak, George (28 January 2011). Fundamentals of Criminal Justice: A Sociological View. Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-7637-5424-2.
  21. ^ "Mexican Mafia: The Most Dangerous Gang". 12 April 2010.
  22. ^ Organized Crime in California Annual Report 2007-08 Attorney General of California (2008)
  23. ^ "Gang Reference Sheet". May 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  24. ^ "The Mongol Motorcycle Gang and the Mexican Mafia". Police Magazine. 21 January 2008.
  25. ^ "America's 11 Most Powerful Prison Gangs". Business Insider.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bruneau was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Nuestra Familia. (2012). The History Channel website. Retrieved 10:59, February 2, 2012, from "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  28. ^ Blatchford, Chris (2008). The black hand : the bloody rise and redemption of "Boxer" Enriquez, a Mexican mob killer (1st ed.). New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780061257292. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  29. ^ Harris, D. (2004). Gangland: The growing gang epidemic in America's cities. Oakland, TN: Holy Fire Publishing, ISBN 0976111241.
  30. ^ www.justice.gov https://www.justice.gov/entity-popup/file/432396#:~:text=La%20Eme%20is%20a%20loosely,a%20Southern%20California%20street%20gang. Retrieved 2024-02-06. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)