Mexican Mafia
Mexican American criminal organization / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Mexican Mafia (Spanish: Mafia Mexicana), also known as La eMe (Spanish for "the M"), is a Mexican American 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. criminal prison organization. Law enforcement officials report that the Mexican Mafia is the deadliest and most powerful gang within the California prison system.[29]
Founded | 1957; 67 years ago (1957)[1][2][3][4] |
---|---|
Founder | Luis "Huero Buff" Flores[1] |
Founding location | Deuel Vocational Institution, California, United States[1][3][4] |
Years active | 1957–present[1] |
Territory | West Coast and Southwestern United States,[5] and throughout the federal prison system[6] and California prison system[6] |
Ethnicity | Mexican American[5] |
Membership | 400–500 "made" members[6][7] |
Activities | Drug trafficking, extortion, illegal gambling, prostitution, assault and murder[5] |
Allies | |
Rivals | |
Notable members |
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]