On May 8, 2010, a Spanish-language flyer was placed on a vehicle in Brownsville, Texas, warning that the upcoming weekend of May 15-17, 2010, would be one of the “most violent weekends in all of Mexican history” as members of an unidentified drug trafficking organization allegedly plan to battle an unspecified rival criminal organization.

The Barrio Azteca was organized in the El Paso, Texas, County Jail in 1987 from where it moved to the streets and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison system. The Barrio Azteca prison gang – which has chapters in El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico – has historically been linked to the Juarez Cartel. Barrio Azteca membership is estimated at 3,500 inside and outside of the prison system. Members have been reported in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Idaho, Washington, Kansas, Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York and Utah. They participate in enforcing the rules of the Juarez Cartel in El Paso, Texas, and southern New Mexico.

This book is a compilation of various gang intelligence information from various sources including detective and police officer files, primarily confiscated from arrested and/or incarcerated individual gang notes and drawings. Additional material was obtained from other law enforcement agencies’ publications and presentations used for internal officer training, as well as from various other gang publications and internet sources. Six major New York City gangs are presented in this book: the Bloods, the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, the Netas, the Crips, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), and the Mexican Gangs. Sections within this book include the origin and history of the gang, its structure, rules and regulations, oaths and pledges, symbols and emblems, coded language and hand signals, clothing, tattoos and graffiti. It is our hope that an officer’s knowledge of gang characteristics will assist in combating gang-motivated crimes and reduce the propensity for violence towards the law enforcement community and innocent citizens.

Historically, Hispanic gangs north of the dividing line have claimed allegiance to the Nortenos and those to the south claimed allegiance to the Surenos. All California Hispanic criminal street gangs claim allegiance to the Nortenos or Surenos, with the exception of the Fresno Bulldogs. Whether it’s on the streets or in the correctional facilities, the Fresno Bulldogs function independently and do not align themselves with Nortenos or Surenos. The Fresno Bulldogs are a unique California based gang that has the power, strength and a large enough membership to stand on its own and remain free from the politics of the Nortenos and Surenos. All other Hispanic criminal street gangs are forced to choose a side whether they want to join in or not.

Gulf Coast High Impact Drug Trafficking Area Law Enforcement Sensitive Guide to Identifying Mexican Gang Tattoos.