18th Street (gang)
Encyclopedia
18th Street gang is considered to be the largest transnational criminal gang
in Los Angeles, California
. It is estimated that there are thousands of members in Los Angeles County
alone. There are approximately 200 separate individual autonomous gangs operating under the same name within separate barrios in the San Fernando Valley
, the San Gabriel Valley
, the South Bay
, South Los Angeles
, Downtown Los Angeles, Pico Union
, Inglewood
, Cudahy
, and Orange County
, according to the latest figures from the NDIC
. Their wide-ranging activities and elevated status have even caught the eye of the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who recently initiated wide-scale raids against known and suspected gang members, netting hundreds of arrests across the country.
A U.S. Justice Department report from 2009 estimates that the 18th Street gang has a membership of 65,000 and is active in 44 cities in 20 states. Its main source of income is street-level distribution of cocaine and marijuana and, to a lesser extent, heroin and methamphetamine. Gang members also commit assault, auto theft, carjacking, drive-by shootings, extortion, homicide, identification fraud, and robbery.
According to the FBI, some factions of the 18th Street gang have developed a high level of sophistication and organization.
The 18th Street gang is of Chicano
origin and was formed by Mexican-American youth who were not accepted in the existing American gangs.
18th Street gang members often identify themselves with the number 18 on their jerseys and clothing. 18th Street will use the symbols XV3, XVIII, 666, 99,(9+9=18), and 3-dots in their graffiti and tattoos. 18th Street colors are black and blue. Blue is to represent Sureños
, the gangs from the oldest barrios in Southern California, and black is to represent the original color for the gang.
The 18th Street gang is occasionally referred to as the "Children's Army" because of its recruitment of elementary and middle-school aged youth.
In El Salvador it is common for members of the gang, to be tattooed on the face with a large "18". In many cases the tattoo covers the entire face.
. Cars are stolen and homes are burglarized by the gang routinely. On average, someone in Los Angeles County is assaulted or robbed by 18th Streeters every day. The gang has left a bloody trail of more than 150 homicides in the city of Los Angeles recorded in the last 10 years — a pace three times that of many of the city’s most active gangs.
18th Street is a well established gang that is involved in all areas of street-crime. Some members have even become involved in producing fraudulent Immigration and Customs Enforcement identification cards and food stamps. Several 18th Street gang members have reached a higher level of sophistication and organization in their illicit activities than other gangs. They also have been linked to murders, murder-for-hire, assaults, copyright infringement, drug trafficking, extortion, human trafficking, illegal immigration, kidnapping, vandalism, drug smuggling, people smuggling, prostitution, robbery, and weapons trafficking, as well as other crimes.
18th Street Gang has been implicated in the high-profile kidnapping and murder of the 16-year-old brother of internationally renowned Honduran soccer player Wilson Palacios
.
are the result of Los Angeles members migrating
to other areas and establishing cliques under their leadership. Members originally from Los Angeles tend to be more respected than those in other areas. In Utah, officials say 18th Street has arrived with a vengeance.
“Within the past two or three years, I’ve heard more and more gang cops telling me, ’18th Street, 18th Street,’” says Sgt. Ron Stallworth, the state’s top gang intelligence officer. “If these guys are here to the extent we think they are, we have to extend some very serious resources to get our ducks lined up.”
Eighteenth Street has become the largest and fastest-growing gang in Oregon. Its members have tried to assert control over the state prison narcotics trade and are blamed for one of Salem’s worst gang slayings: A 15-year-old 18th Streeter, who wanted out, was gunned down by his homeboys.
“It’s just phenomenal what’s happening here [with the gang],” says Ron Weaver of the Oregon Youth Authority.
In El Salvador
, church leaders have been working to broker a truce between 18th Street and its rivals. Authorities from Honduras
, meanwhile, recently visited Los Angeles seeking advice from law enforcement on the gang.
“Eighteenth Street is like a many-headed hydra,” says Assistant U.S. Atty. Gregory W. Jessner, who oversees a prosecutorial task force targeting the gang.”
18th Street cliques have been identified in 32 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, as well as foreign countries such as Mexico
, El Salvador
, Honduras
, Guatemala
, Canada
. Some cliques are: 54th Tiny Locos, Hollywood Gangsters, Tiny Diablos, Pico Gangsters, BellFlower, 106th Block, Grand View, Hoover, Mac Arthur Park, Smile Drive, Shatto Park, South Central, Rancho Park, Cudahi, Baby Locas (A Females Clique) and the Malditos in Orange County
.
Criminal gang
A criminal gang may be:* Prison gang* Street gang* gangs within organized crime* Outlaw motorcycle club...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. It is estimated that there are thousands of members in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
alone. There are approximately 200 separate individual autonomous gangs operating under the same name within separate barrios in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, the San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
, the South Bay
South Bay, Los Angeles
The South Bay is a region of the southwest peninsula of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The name stems from its geographic features stretching along the southern shores of Santa Monica Bay which forms its western border.The picture at right uses the broadest definition of the...
, South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A. and formerly South Central Los Angeles, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central, and is still widely known...
, Downtown Los Angeles, Pico Union
Pico-Union, Los Angeles, California
Pico-Union is a district in Los Angeles, California. Its name derives from the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue. The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency officially adopted the name in 1970, when it launched a neighborhood renewal program that continues to this day...
, Inglewood
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
, Cudahy
Cudahy, California
Cudahy is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. In terms of area, Cudahy is the second smallest city in Los Angeles County, after Hawaiian Gardens. with one of the highest population densities of any incorporated city in the United States...
, and Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, according to the latest figures from the NDIC
National Drug Intelligence Center
The U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center , established in 1993, is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice and a member of the Intelligence Community...
. Their wide-ranging activities and elevated status have even caught the eye of the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who recently initiated wide-scale raids against known and suspected gang members, netting hundreds of arrests across the country.
A U.S. Justice Department report from 2009 estimates that the 18th Street gang has a membership of 65,000 and is active in 44 cities in 20 states. Its main source of income is street-level distribution of cocaine and marijuana and, to a lesser extent, heroin and methamphetamine. Gang members also commit assault, auto theft, carjacking, drive-by shootings, extortion, homicide, identification fraud, and robbery.
Culture
18th Street gang members are required to abide by a strict set of rules. Failure to obey the word of a gang leader, or to show proper respect to a fellow gang member, may result in an 18-second beating, or even execution for more serious offenses.According to the FBI, some factions of the 18th Street gang have developed a high level of sophistication and organization.
The 18th Street gang is of Chicano
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
origin and was formed by Mexican-American youth who were not accepted in the existing American gangs.
18th Street gang members often identify themselves with the number 18 on their jerseys and clothing. 18th Street will use the symbols XV3, XVIII, 666, 99,(9+9=18), and 3-dots in their graffiti and tattoos. 18th Street colors are black and blue. Blue is to represent Sureños
Sureños
Sureños are a group of Mexican American street gangs with origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California. Although they are based in California, the influence of the Sureños has spread to many parts of the US and other countries as well such as Germany and Japan...
, the gangs from the oldest barrios in Southern California, and black is to represent the original color for the gang.
The 18th Street gang is occasionally referred to as the "Children's Army" because of its recruitment of elementary and middle-school aged youth.
In El Salvador it is common for members of the gang, to be tattooed on the face with a large "18". In many cases the tattoo covers the entire face.
Criminal activity
"We recognize them as one of the most violent street gangs and one of the most prolific in the United States,” says Special agent George Rodriguez, who until his retirement this month oversaw investigations for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and ExplosivesBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
. Cars are stolen and homes are burglarized by the gang routinely. On average, someone in Los Angeles County is assaulted or robbed by 18th Streeters every day. The gang has left a bloody trail of more than 150 homicides in the city of Los Angeles recorded in the last 10 years — a pace three times that of many of the city’s most active gangs.
18th Street is a well established gang that is involved in all areas of street-crime. Some members have even become involved in producing fraudulent Immigration and Customs Enforcement identification cards and food stamps. Several 18th Street gang members have reached a higher level of sophistication and organization in their illicit activities than other gangs. They also have been linked to murders, murder-for-hire, assaults, copyright infringement, drug trafficking, extortion, human trafficking, illegal immigration, kidnapping, vandalism, drug smuggling, people smuggling, prostitution, robbery, and weapons trafficking, as well as other crimes.
18th Street Gang has been implicated in the high-profile kidnapping and murder of the 16-year-old brother of internationally renowned Honduran soccer player Wilson Palacios
Wilson Palacios
Wilson Roberto Palacios Suazo is a Honduran footballer who plays in the Premier League for Stoke City.Born in La Ceiba, he played for Victoria and Olimpia in Honduras before moving to England where he played for Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic. In 2009 he joined Tottenham Hotspur, generally...
.
Location
The majority of 18th Street cliques operating throughout Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
are the result of Los Angeles members migrating
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
to other areas and establishing cliques under their leadership. Members originally from Los Angeles tend to be more respected than those in other areas. In Utah, officials say 18th Street has arrived with a vengeance.
“Within the past two or three years, I’ve heard more and more gang cops telling me, ’18th Street, 18th Street,’” says Sgt. Ron Stallworth, the state’s top gang intelligence officer. “If these guys are here to the extent we think they are, we have to extend some very serious resources to get our ducks lined up.”
Eighteenth Street has become the largest and fastest-growing gang in Oregon. Its members have tried to assert control over the state prison narcotics trade and are blamed for one of Salem’s worst gang slayings: A 15-year-old 18th Streeter, who wanted out, was gunned down by his homeboys.
“It’s just phenomenal what’s happening here [with the gang],” says Ron Weaver of the Oregon Youth Authority.
In El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, church leaders have been working to broker a truce between 18th Street and its rivals. Authorities from Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, meanwhile, recently visited Los Angeles seeking advice from law enforcement on the gang.
“Eighteenth Street is like a many-headed hydra,” says Assistant U.S. Atty. Gregory W. Jessner, who oversees a prosecutorial task force targeting the gang.”
18th Street cliques have been identified in 32 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, as well as foreign countries such as Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Some cliques are: 54th Tiny Locos, Hollywood Gangsters, Tiny Diablos, Pico Gangsters, BellFlower, 106th Block, Grand View, Hoover, Mac Arthur Park, Smile Drive, Shatto Park, South Central, Rancho Park, Cudahi, Baby Locas (A Females Clique) and the Malditos in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
.
External links
- Extensive 18th Street Gang information
- 18th Street Gang in Los Angeles County
- BBC News: Gang life tempts Salvador teens
- BBC News: El Salvador swoops on street gang
- MS-13 Member’s Trail Shows Gang’s Movement 18th Street Gang/MS-13 Rivalry
- PBS Wide Angle: 18 With a Bullet 18th Street Gang in El Salvador
- La Cloaca Internacional: Entrevista de dos horas a integrantes del Barrio 18 (in Spanish)
- FBI.gov
- ICE.gov