This article examines Nuestra Familia, a major Latino prison gang in the United States and one of the earliest of such groups to develop in California. Prison gangs vary widely in their characteristics, but they form and operate in the penitentiary system, usually along racial or ethnic lines; maintain a vertical chain of command; obey a code of conduct; and require a lifetime membership. Inmates create these groups for reasons of self-protection in a hostile environment and commit or order crimes for their own economic support. From behind bars, prison gangs even direct street gangs to enforce their orders, perpetrate crimes on their behalf, and deposit their profits in return for protection during their own jail time.
In the United States, prison gang affiliation has steadily increased since the 1950s, but the paucity of official documentation, the secrecy of these groups, and limited external access to these groups mean that little research-based data are available on the nature and reach of prison gangs. These groups formed and gradually spread throughout the U.S. prison system as inmate populations grew larger, younger, more ethnically/racially mixed, and more violent. This article considers the purpose, evolution, and nature of Nuestra Familia, reasoning that the organization adapted its structure to curtail internal corruption and has proved resistant to law enforcement efforts.
Origins and Development
Nuestra Familia arose in response to aggressions by the Mexican Mafia, today a leading prison gang that formed in the Deuel Vocational Institution at Tracy, CA, in 1957. Los Angeles-based Chicanos had created the Mexican Mafia to defend themselves against other inmates but soon started abusing and extorting nonaffiliated Latinos, including Mexican American farmworkers from Northern California’s agricultural Central Valley. Nuestra Familia laid its groundwork in Soledad State Prison but was formally born in San Quentin State Prison in 1968 when a Mexican Mafia member stole the shoes of a non-associated Chicano who was stabbed to death when confronting the thief. This episode, known as the shoe war, boosted Nuestra Familia’s membership and led to the establishment of its headquarters in Pelican Bay State Prison at Crescent City, near the California–Oregon border.
In 1973, the group commenced operations in the streets as members on parole were tasked with setting up street regiments. These crews were required to generate funds for incarcerated members, weapons purchases, and the drug business. With Bakersfield dividing the territories of the Mexican Mafia and Nuestra Familia, the latter extended its influence over the West’s agricultural towns, notably Salinas, and detention facilities in other parts of the United States.
Affiliation with Nuestra Familia is symbolically expressed through the color red, the number 14 (which stands for Norteño or Northern California), and tattoos that may show a sombrero with a blood-dripping dagger or denote the various career stages in the group.
Vision and Objectives
Nuestra Familia aims to be a strong and self- supporting organization that works for the betterment of its members and enables them to retain their cultural identity as Chicanos. Its best interests go before everything else, including the individuals’ own families and any material pursuits. The use of violence is meant to be restricted to ensuring physical protection from other inmates or to intervening in human rights violations committed in the penitentiary system. Nuestra Familia pledges to assist its incarcerated members by providing them with financial aid and discounted prison store goods, legal counsel, and emotional support. To accomplish these goals, it relies on relatives and other collaborators outside of the prison who will act as couriers of messages and contraband, deposit funds, and facilitate unlawful activities. Crimes typically include murder, robbery, assault, witness intimidation, drug sales and distribution, extortion, and taxation of illicit income. Nuestra Familia began to stray from its original vision and abandon its members, particularly those sent to death row, when greed and corruption set in.
By 1978, the organization had been operating successfully enough to be earning tens of thousands of dollars of illegal revenue. Robert Sosa, at the time Nuestra Familia’s General (or supreme commander), was mandated to administer these resources to further collective interests but had in fact embezzled more than US$100,000 from the group’s accounts. Sosa was impeached and Nuestra Familia’s structure altered to impede future misconduct. In the mid- to late 1990s, however, a renewed decline in membership occurred when leaders turned to prioritizing drug profits over the protection of jailed Norteños. As of 2018, the Mexican Mafia, which controls Sureño street gangs operating in Southern California, remains Nuestra Familia’s chief rival. Federal investigations indicate that Nuestra Familia has cooperated with Mexican drug trafficking organizations in distributing drugs and collecting drug proceeds in California.
Structure and Norms
Nuestra Familia’s constitution, drafted in the 1970s and revised in the 1990s, sets out the organization’s structure and the code of conduct to which members are expected to adhere. The document specifies responsibilities, including individuals’ obligation to help establish street regiments or territorial units; decrees mandatory lifetime membership as well as the automatic expulsion of traitors; explains misconduct, including drug consumption; and stipulates the corresponding sanctions and complaints procedures.
Nuestra Familia is structured along quasi- military lines to enforce these rules and ensure the organization’s smooth running. Initially, the top layer of the hierarchy comprised a general who wielded absolute authority but could be impeached if he was found not to work in the organization’s best interests. This person oversaw 10 captains (or regimental commanders), who managed operations in their respective prison and directed regiments comprising numerous lieutenants and soldiers. In turn, the lieutenants schooled recruits, ensured basic needs were met, monitored conduct, and administered discipline when ordered.
When the original system of checks and balances proved unable to prevent the abuse of power for personal gain, a three-member organizational governing body was created in the early 1980s. Replacing the top general was La Mesa (The Table), whose members were elected and took decisions by two-thirds majority of votes. A new three-category system was introduced to grade members by rank and experience, ranging from recruits to educators and managers. From this third category, individuals were chosen for positions with voting rights in the organizational governing body, such as the General Council, the Inner Council, and the Generals.
In 1984, however, Nuestra Familia also created Nuestra Raza in Folsom State Prison with the objective of spreading its vision in mainline prison and repelling outside threats. Specifically, Nuestra Raza members were asked to unite Norteño street gangs so as to better defend turf and drug markets against Sureño gangs that in the early to mid-1990s sought to expand the Mexican Mafia’s influence in Northern California. Nuestra Raza comprises selected Norteño gang members that follow Nuestra Familia’s orders and are potential recruits for the organization. Norteño gangs pay taxes to Nuestra Familia, but once behind bars, they are trained in the group’s history, philosophy, and strategy. Those who pass the requisite tests can move into Nuestra Raza.
Nuestra Familia’s grip over these two auxiliary groups weakened when the drug business progressively displaced more altruistic concerns. Infighting occurred and intensified when some favored a truce with the Mexican Mafia and others rejected it so the organization could strengthen its power both inside and outside the correctional system. As members of Nuestra Raza and the Norteño gangs began rebelling against the dictates of an entity that had lost its way, Nuestra Familia turned to dealing more aggressively with dissenters in its ranks.
Recruitment and Membership
Unless they have relatives in the organization, individuals can only join Nuestra Familia if they are backed by one of its current members. The sponsor is held accountable for the recruit who must learn about the gang’s history and constitution as well as literacy and survival skills. Membership is approved when the apprentice demonstrates the necessary knowledge and moral standing. Murder is not a criterion of admission but of promotion to more senior positions.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment reported the existence of 33,000 gangs with approximately 1.4 million members in the United States. Prison gangs constituted 16% of the total gang population but declined to 9.5% by the time of the 2013 report. According to law enforcement estimates, Nuestra Familia has some 400–600 incarcerated members and about 1,000 associates who work for the organization without formally belonging. These numbers, however, do not convey the destructive impact not only on members themselves but also on local communities affected by the violence.
Prison and Law Enforcement Interventions
In an attempt to reduce the membership in prison gangs and to eventually dismantle them, the United States has mostly adopted a suppressive approach. Correctional facilities long sought to break up various groups by scattering their members to various institutions, but this strategy effectively spread gang activity throughout the state and federal prison systems. Since the 1990s, authorities have separated gang members from the general inmate population and have isolated their leaders in order to interrupt their communications and decrease violence. Research suggests that segregation helps reduce conflicts but does not succeed in curbing interactions, let alone eradicating prison gangs. Indeed, this policy may inadvertently reinforce gang identities and bolster gang cohesion.
Law enforcement authorities have made use of inmate informants and assertively prosecuted the crimes committed by prison gang members. Operation Black Widow, launched in 1997, was an extensive 7-year federal effort to investigate and prosecute senior Nuestra Familia leaders. Although the actions constituted a severe blow to the organization, those convicted received light sentences in negotiated plea deals and took their gang activity to prisons outside California. Operation Black Widow was followed by a series of other operations aimed at removing the leaders on the streets. However, Nuestra Familia proved resilient. By adapting its communications system, eliminating perceived snitches, and employing violence with greater discretion, it even managed to expand its flourishing drug business.
The enduring strength of Nuestra Familia, and its unbroken influence over Nuestra Raza and Norteño street gangs, shows that the combination of identity, solidarity, respect, fast money, and power retains its allure for many socially excluded individuals. Tackling prison and street gangs more effectively will require more than prosecuting and incarcerating those who have broken the law. While it is imperative to make prison management and rehabilitation more effective, reducing the pernicious consequences of gangs will require greater community development, better counseling services, and a greater number of dignified education and job opportunities. In the meantime, further research would update and improve the understanding of the nature and workings of prison gangs, as well as their relationship to street gangs in different contexts.
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