The Mexican Mafia is a criminal organization in the United States of America (USA), which mainly consists of people of Mexican nationality. Despite its name, it was originally created in the United States, and its activities are carried out mainly on the territory of this state in its prisons. Mexican bandits are one of the oldest US mafia.
The creation of the mafia
The beginning of this criminal organization, which is also called La Eme (the name of the letter "M" in Spanish), is considered to be the meeting on November 14, 1957 in the town of Apalachin (New York), the founder of the mafia Luis Guero Buffo Flores with leaders of various gang groups. This collection was disclosed by the authorities.
The mafia’s founding day is considered to be November 15, 1957, which included 13 gangs. Luis Flores was able, while in prison, to unite the various groups that were at war with each other on the streets of the city.
Initially, the idea of Luis Flores was to unite the most dangerous Mexican bandits in order to control the black market in prison. One of the members of the mafia, Ramon Eme Mendoza, set a goal for the created mafia: to terrorize the prison system and enjoy the amenities it provides.
Subsequently, Anaclet Ramirez, a famous member of one of the gangs that make up the organization of Mexican bandits, began to attract problematic young people into her, teaching them discipline and rules of life on the street.
Mafia division
In 1978, the criminal organization La Eme was divided into two groups:
- The original mafia, which preserved the structure and philosophy of the previous organization.
- A new mafia with its own structure, in which each member can participate in the selection of the leader, who has the right to make important decisions.
This separation occurred at Florence Prison in Arizona. The next few years in the history of the mafia were marked by a mass of killings caused by disputes between the two new organizations for the right to be called the Mexican Mafia.
Mafia crime
The main unlawful actions of the organization of Mexican bandits are terrorism, car theft, kidnapping, extortion, drug and arms trafficking both inside and outside US prisons.
This mafia is involved in the killings of many members of other gangster organizations, for example, the Aryan Brotherhood - an organization consisting of white-skinned bandits, or the Black Guerilla Family, which included mainly African-Americans.
The Mexican Mafia operates in the United States in the so-called Golden Triangle: Chicago, Texas and California. Currently, the mafia also operates in Mexico. Many of its members have dual citizenship and are free to cross the border between the two countries. The criminal actions of the mafia contribute to the status of Mexico, as one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
Culture and norms of the criminal organization
The criminal organization La Eme does not have a single leader, many of its members have the right to plan the killing of people and carry out other criminal operations. According to rough estimates, about 1,000 members of the mafia have the right to leadership and control its activities.
The following rules apply in the organization of Mexican bandits:
- Gang members cannot be homosexual.
- Members should not be scammers.
- Gang members cannot be cowards.
- It is forbidden to commit an attempt on another gang member without permission.
- Each gangster must respect the family of another member of the mafia.
- It is forbidden for gang members to rob each other.
- The participant has no right to interfere in the affairs of another gangster.
Violation of any norm is punishable by death.
Mafia Allies and Enemies
The Mexican mafia controls almost all the gangs in southern California. The mafia’s ally is the Aryan Brotherhood, despite periodic disagreements, as both organizations share common enemies. La Eme also collaborates with Mexican drug cartels.
The main enemies of the mafia is the criminal organization Our Family, which is dominant in northern California, as well as some African-American groups, such as Crips or Bloods.
Symbols of a criminal organization
The main symbol of the organization of Mexican bandits is a black hand, which is often depicted on the tattoos of its participants. The national symbol of Mexico - an eagle and a snake, located above the circle of fire with crossed knives, is also used by this mafia. And another symbol of the mafia is the letter "M", which its members in the form of tattoos depict on the palms and fingers.
Often, street gangs, which are controlled by the Mexican mafia, use the number 13 for their identification, since it is the serial number of the letter "M" in the Spanish alphabet.
Another famous symbol of this organization is a woman in sombrero and the words Carnalismo (consanguinity), Sureño (southern) and Homie.