Latino Street Gangs: La Clica
Street gangs are not a new phenomenon in the US, especially on the East Coast where our earliest documentation of ethnic-based gangs was developed inthe early 1800’s. However, ‘gang rules’ have changed dramatically. Older Hispanic ‘veterano’ gang members used to have an unwritten code of honor: don't hurt women, children, or old people. These days, the law is ‘lo mas loco’. The craziest, most violent one is the most respected regardless of how many people get in the way. The Mexican Mafia did try to enforce the old rule for a period in the early 1990’s, basically telling L.A. street gang members to either walk up to their enemy and take care of business like a man, or face a shanking with a make-shift knife upon sentencing to prison.
Gangs are often referred to by police as ‘street terrorists’. This term is based on their attempts to disrupt our communities by violence and sheer terror. Many Americans are familiar with the predominately African-American street gangs, such as the Bloods, Crips, Black Gangster Disciples, and Vicelords. Black and Asian gangs have become very mobile. Gangs advertise their control over a neighborhood by the use of graffiti also called “tags” or "plaqeasos". Hispanic gangs have also recently become more mobile and are no longer strictly “turf oriented”. The Interstate-5, I-10, I-80, and I-90 corridors are used by many West Coast street gang members as main routes, from south to north, west to east, for illegal activities. Some gangs inside and outside of corrections facilities even have international ties, i.e. the 18th Street Gang (XV3) and Mara Salvatrucha (MS).
The 18th Street Gang
This gang started on the West Side of Los Angeles around 1965. It was made up largely of 2nd generation Hispanic immigrants. As the 18th Street gang began to battle with more established Chicano gangs, they began to recruit outside of the Hispanic community. Some officials estimated their size in 1998 with up to 20,000 members in over 120 U.S. cities! According to the Department of Justice, an estimated 60% were illegal immigrants. The gang became so big, many of it’s members did not even recognize each other!
The 18th Street gang now has chapters on the North (Hollywood area), in East L.A. county, and in South Central Los Angeles where their traditional enemies are the Florencia 13 gang. There are even groups of the 18th Street gang in Mexico. According to Portland’s Gang Enforcement Team (GET) Officer Rafael Cancio, “they are the fastest growing gang in Oregon.”1 As law enforcement cracked down on the gang in L.A., they traveled up the West Coast to Salt Lake City, Portland, Seattle, and Eastern Washington.
From 1990 to 1996, they killed over 100 people in the City of Los Angeles. They were very involved in the 1992 L.A. Riots and in 1994 a combined task force of FBI and LAPD arrested and convicted six influential members. They have had, on again off again, ties with the Mexican Mafia (EME). Because of their close ties to the Drug Cartels they are a good source of drugs for La EME. Because of their low criteria for becoming a member, lack of control because of their size, and not always following orders, they are also perceived as a liability.
In July 2000, there was an federal RICO indictment by L.A. prosecutors against (26) 18th Street gang members who were accused of major drug trafficking in and around the MacArthur Park area in the Pico-Union district just west of downtown Los Angeles. The Columbia Li'l Cycos are one of the most violent and financially successful 18th Street cliques in L.A. A senior FBI official in Los Angeles, said Columbia Li'l Cycos, also known as CLCs, "were held up in the gang community as examples of how to do business." Federal investigators seized approximately a half million dollars in cash from gang members' hangouts. "This wealth was accumulated one [cocaine] rock at a time," said another official.
The 18th Street gang was ordered to pay a tax on its drug profits to the EME, according to the indictment. The Columbia Li'l Cycos' indicted leader, Francisco Ruiz Martinez, 36, is a Mexican Mafia member, prosecutors said. Martinez, also known as "Puppet" or "Pancho," allegedly controlled the clique and is presently in federal custody. The indictment accused 18th Street CLC clique gang members of carrying out three executions, the killing of Javier "Lefty" Cazales, and the death of EME collect rep Carlos “Truco” Lopez and his girlfriend who cruised through 18th Street territory in his new $35,000 Chevy Surburban. 18th Street gunmen instantly lit them up with over 30 rounds of automatic gunfire. They spraypainted his vehicle with XVIII graffiti so nobody would question who did it!
Ismael Jimenez, 34, also known as "Loner," was another 18th Street member accused of racketeering, drug trafficking and conspiring to commit two murders in 1999. Recently, the L.A. city council paid him a large monetary settlement for an alleged beating by a former LAPD officer in the troubled Rampart Division. The officer was fired because of the incident. “Loner” allegedly continued to do crime.
In August of 1998, 26 year old LAPD officer Filbert Cuesta Jr., a member of the now defunct Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit, was sitting in his patrol car when an 18th Streeter walked up to his patrol car and shot him in the back of the head. It was a cowardly murder of a cop!
Mara Salvatrucha
The MS gang is made up of mostly Salvadorans and originated in the Los Angeles area. The group was started, in part, to protect themselves from the 18th Street gang.4 Originally the MS thought that “Mara” meant gang since it was used by the Maravilla gangs in East Los Angeles. “Salva” for El Salvador and “trucha” for beware! MS, as it is also known as being very violent.
One of the terrifying background aspects of the older veterano MS members is that they may have received special forces training from the C.I.A. Others may be former guerrilla soldiers who are experts at sabotage, making bombs, creating diversions, and using high-powered automatic weapons. When deported, the MS has continued it's illegal activity in El Salvador. They have been spotted in New York, Washington D.C., Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.
A recent injunction against the MS in the Hollywood, California area proved very effective. Other agencies followed. Police in Seattle acted swiftly to the gang. According to Seattle (WA) PD Gang Detective Ed Harris, “If we can deal with them at this infancy debut in Seattle in such a way that it discourages other MS gang members from coming up here, then we’ve gone a long way to reduce violence before it starts”.5 His partner Det. Rod Harding specialized in “taggers” and graffiti identification. He documented, tracked the gang, and made the local community aware until the gang left the area. Unfortunately, the gang regrouped a few years later just outside of the city limits in neighboring unincorporated King County (Seattle area) where the active gang unit had been recently disbanded.
