The Mexican Mafia is a prison gang, being the first such gang to establish extralegal governance over prison inmates as well as criminal street gangs conducting gang-related criminal operations outside prison walls. It achieved this power and control by offering protection services to incarcerated gang members in return for payment of taxes (percentages of criminal profits) and extralegal jurisdiction over the allied street gangs. This umbrella of protection was first offered for incarcerated gang members but was later extended to include protection services for the allied gang itself, including protection for any allied gang member, regardless of whether the gang member was inside or outside prison walls. Any failure to pay taxes or follow Mexican Mafia orders results in issuance of a green light to assault, batter, or kill any and all members of the noncompliant gang.
Through psychological and physical coercion, the Mexican Mafia prison gang became one of the strongest and most feared prison gangs in the United States. More than 400 allied criminal street gangs willingly pay taxes and submit to extralegal governance by the Mexican Mafia. This jurisdiction includes the authority of the Mexican Mafia to resolve issues such as turf ownership, dispute resolution, control of drug trafficking operations, or other gang-related criminal activity. As a result, the Mexican Mafia controls more than 21,000 Hispanic and Mexican American gang members operating in the United States, Mexico, and parts of Central and South America. After reviewing the history and the structure of the Mexican Mafia, this article explores the gang’s extralegal governance and its ability to maintain solidarity.
History of the Mexican Mafia
In 1957, the Deuel Vocational Institution housed some of the worst youthful offenders in California. The inmates would align along racial, ethnic, cultural, or religious ties and prey upon less organized Hispanic and Mexican American inmates. In response, inmate Louis “Huero Buff” Flores founded the Mexican Mafia prison gang. Designed after the Sicilian Mafia, the Mexican Mafia provided social support and protection for the less organized Hispanic and Mexican American inmates. But the goal was more than mere protection and social support: Flores’s stated goal was to create an elite prison gang of gangs that not only aligned prison inmates but also served to align Hispanic and Mexican American criminal street gangs operating outside prison walls.
The premise was simple. Drug dealers and most gang members realize that they are likely to get caught committing gang-related crimes and are likely to serve time in prison. Once incarcerated, they become prey for more organized groups of prisoners and prison gangs who are often armed with homemade prison weapons. Because of this vulnerability, the street gangs are willing to align with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, pay taxes, and follow orders issued by the Mexican Mafia in return for protection services.
Organizational Structure of the Mexican Mafia
The Mexican Mafia does not have a rank and file. In prison, each Carnal (i.e., full pledged member) has one vote, with each vote being equal. This organizational structure provides insulation should a Mexican Mafia Carnal be relocated, die, or be killed by rival prison gang members.
Due to a continuous supply of inmates, the loss of a few Carnals does not threaten or cause collapse of the Mexican Mafia prison gang. Instead, many inmates line up to become Mexican Mafia prospects. As a measure of precaution, the Mexican Mafia performs extensive background checks on prospective members. In addition, any prospect must abide by the Mexican Mafia regales (rules) and follow orders for approximately 2 years before being considered for full membership as a Carnal. Upon completion of the initiation phase, the prospect must attain unanimous approval of all sponsoring Mexican Mafia Carnals. This thorough initiation process makes it highly unlikely that the Mexican Mafia will be overthrown by a rival prison gang or infiltrated by an undercover law enforcement officer.
During the initiation phase, the prospect must pledge allegiance to the Mexican Mafia, follow the Mexican Mafia regales, and abide by the Mexican Mafia Constitution. To show bravery and loyalty to the Mexican Mafia, the prospect is required to physically attack or kill another inmate. The Mexican Mafia has established a “blood in, blood out” initiation oath, whereby a prospect must draw blood or shed blood to become a member.
Loyalty to the Mexican Mafia is also for life. All prospects and members are duty bound to attack anyone who does not display proper respect to the Mexican Mafia. Should a Carnal or associate become disloyal, all Mexican Mafia members, prospects, associates, and allied street gangs are duty bound to kill that disobedient individual.
Psychological Coercion
Understanding the Mexican Mafia’s vast network of control and extralegal governance of allied criminal street gangs requires an understanding of the nature of incarceration. A newly incarcerated individual is stripped of personal belongings, weapons, and any protection afforded by fellow street gang members remaining outside prison walls and is thrown into unfamiliar surroundings, most frequently a cell or barracks. Being alone, the inmate becomes prey for more organized, predatory inmates.
In part, it is a numbers game. Most street gangs (as opposed to prison gangs) have fewer than 40 members. As such, it is unlikely that more than three or four members of the same street gang will be incarcerated in the same prison at the same time. As a result, most incarcerated gang members are outnumbered by the more organized inmates or rival prison gangs. These prisoners and established prison gangs pose serious physical threats to a new inmate, as they are often armed with homemade prison weapons and are familiar with blind spots in the prison yard where they can victimize a new inmate without detection.
Consequently, incarcerated street gang members face a choice: either join a prison gang or become prey for roving bands of prison predators. The street gangs have a similar choice: either align with a prison gang or watch helplessly as their members are victimized, harassed, or even killed once inside prison walls. The allied street gangs willingly pay taxes and submit to extralegal governance by the Mexican Mafia prison gang to ensure their own protection.
Mexican Mafia Solidarity
The Mexican Mafia Constitution further establishes solidarity. It affirms that “the Mexican Mafia comes first—even before your own family.” As a condition of membership, gang members must lay aside any former gang rivalries or personal conflicts to further the interests of the Mexican Mafia. Since membership is for life, this remains true regardless of whether the Mexican Mafia member is inside or outside prison walls. The number one priority must be the Mexican Mafia, and the number one goal must be to further Mexican Mafia criminal interests.
Furthermore, the Mexican Mafia solidarity is synergistic. Through a pledge of absolute loyalty to the Mexican Mafia, the gang psyche strengthens any individual weaknesses, making each gang member bolder, braver, and stronger than if acting alone. Carnals, associates, and allied street gang members are willing to take risks, knowing that the entire Mexican Mafia, including 21,000 Sureño street soldiers and 1,500 associates, will back them if conflict arises. As such, the Mexican Mafia and allied street gangs act as a collective that is unified and ready to attack if confronted with disrespect, insubordination, or violence.
This solidarity serves to strengthen power and control over allied street gangs. As noted earlier, allied street gangs are willing to pay taxes, ranging between 10% and 30% of the street gang’s criminal profits, to become a member of the elite prison gang of gangs. If the taxes are not paid, the Mexican Mafia issues a green light for all Mexican Mafia members, associates, and aligned street gangs to attack and take over the noncompliant gang’s street territory and criminal operations. Without the Mexican Mafia’s protection, the green light makes the noncompliant street gang vulnerable to overthrow by a rival street gang, resulting in a loss of gang-related profits or gang-related territory, or both. Accordingly, allied street gangs seldom fail to pay taxes to the Mexican Mafia.
Solidarity is also strengthened once a Mexican Mafia member or associate is released from prison. Association with the Mexican Mafia is viewed as a status symbol and most often allows the released inmate to assume a position of leadership in the former street gang. In some instances, the Mexican Mafia Carnal rejoins the street gang as a tax collector who secures payment of taxes to the Mexican Mafia prison gang. Through this symbiotic relationship, power and control over aligned street gangs are further strengthened, and Mexican Mafia solidarity is enhanced.
Power and Control Over Street Gangs
As noted, the Mexican Mafia is solidly entrenched in U.S., Mexican, and Central American prison systems. It stands strong with more than 400 members, at least 1,500 prison associates, and more than 21,000 Sureño street gang members (soldiers) that stand in alliance with the Mexican Mafia. As a result of such numbers, most street gangs are without sufficient numbers to pose a threat to Mexican Mafia control.
This is evidenced by the 1992 conflict when the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang refused to pay taxes to the Mexican Mafia. As a show of force, the Mexican Mafia issued a green light on any Mongol gang member. Once the green light was issued, all Mexican Mafia members, associates, and Sureño soldiers were obligated to enforce the green light through acts of violence, regardless of whether the Mongols were on the streets or behind prison walls.
On the streets, the well-organized motorcycle gang of approximately 2,600 members was able to fend for itself. However, the same was not true inside prison walls. Incarcerated Mongols were severely outnumbered and became targets for harassment, physical violence, and murder. The only alternative to continual harassment was to seek protective custody that afforded 23-hr lockdown. As a result, the Mongols submitted to taxation and control by the Mexican Mafia 1 year after the Mexican Mafia’s display of violence and aggression.
Mara Salvatrucha also refused to pay taxes to the Mexican Mafia. In retaliation, the Mexican Mafia issued a green light on all Mara Salvatrucha gang members, regardless of whether the Mara Salvatrucha gang members were inside or outside prison walls. The unending harassment disrupted business and recruiting efforts to the point that Mara Salvatrucha agreed to pay taxes and align with the Mexican Mafia. As a sign of allegiance, Mara Salvatrucha added the Mexican Mafia identifier “13” (representing the 13th letter of the alphabet or “M”) to their name, thus acquiring the notorious nickname “MS-13.”
Emergence of Other Prison Gangs
Once the Mexican Mafia emerged, other prison gangs followed. Similar to the Mexican Mafia, these prison gangs initially formed to provide social support and much needed protection from harassment or physical violence. But once the prison gangs became established, the focus shifted from social support and protection to gang-related profits and organized crime. They engaged in extortion of taxes and more control of gangrelated criminal activity, both inside and outside prison walls.
One such example of a well-established prison gang is the Nuestra Familia prison gang. It was established in the 1960s to provide protection for Hispanics and Mexican Americans incarcerated in Northern California prisons. Since Norteño street gangs (located in Northern California) are hostile enemies of Sureño street gangs (located in Southern California), Nuestra Familia served as an alternative to joining the Mexican Mafia, especially since the Mexican Mafia is highly saturated with Sureño street gang members.
Since the 1960s, the Nuestra Familia prison gang has become a very powerful prison gang not only in Northern California prisons but also in the southern and Western states. It exerts extralegal jurisdiction over approximately 1,000 allied criminal street gangs (primarily Norteño street gangs), both inside and outside prison walls.
Similarly, the Barrio Azteca in Western Texas, the Mexikanemi in Southwest Texas, the United Blood Nation in New York, and the Black Guerrilla Family in Maryland are examples of well-established prison gangs that provide protection services for inmates and allied street gangs in return for extralegal governance and payment of taxes.
With growth, alliances naturally form. For example, the Mexican Mafia aligns with the Aryan Brotherhood, and the Nuestra Familia prison gang aligns with the Black Guerilla Family. Such alliances, both inside and outside prison walls, serve to enhance criminal operations such as smuggling inside prison walls and drug trafficking operations on the streets.
Solidarity Through Segregation
The rules and regulations of the correctional systems in the United States may serve to strengthen solidarity of the Mexican Mafia and other prison gangs. Generally, rival gang members are not placed in the same prison cells or pods. Instead, rival gang members are most often housed in segregated units. Because gangs generally align along racial, ethnic, and cultural ties, this segregation often perpetrates growth of new prison gangs and serves to strengthen solidarity and loyalty to existing prison gangs.
To compound the issue, correctional facilities are seldom able to control all aspects of inmate conduct. Budgets and lack of correctional officers minimize the extent of such power and control. Moreover, inmates and prison gangs seldom look to correctional officials or the judiciary for protection or dispute resolution. Instead, the prison evolves its own prison culture and its own governing system, with prison gangs often serving as the governing bodies that provide extralegal governance, protection services, and dispute resolution. The prison gangs become pseudo-governments that further spawn their growth, expansion, and control.
Furthermore, prison gangs make it clear that a green light will be issued if their orders are not followed. As a consequence, decisions of these extralegal governing bodies are most often upheld. Otherwise, incarcerated members of aligned gangs risk daily brutality, loss of life, and an almost unbearable prison existence. As a result, this physical and psychological coercion makes any prison sentence, even a short sentence, extremely difficult.
Conclusion
The Mexican Mafia has become one of the most feared and violent prison gangs in the United States. Its span of control encompasses not only U.S. prisons but also prisons in parts of Central and South America. As such, the Mexican Mafia is not only a growing concern for correctional officials but also a growing concern for federal and state law enforcement agencies throughout the United States.
References:
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