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| Sureños | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sureños |
| Founded | 1960s |
| Founding location | California |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Territory | California, United States, Mexico |
| Ethnicity | Hispanic and Latino Americans |
| Allies | Mexican Mafia, Folk Nation |
| Rivals | Norteños, Mexican federal police |
| Activities | illegal narcotics trafficking, extortion, robbery, murder |
Sureños are a coalition of street gangs originating in California during the 1960s that affiliate with the Mexican Mafia, operate across the United States and have links into Mexico, engaging in organized criminal activity and prison-based hierarchies. Originating from conflicts in Los Angeles County and influenced by shifts in incarceration policy, they are connected to numerous local subsets and have been the subject of federal investigations involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and state correctional authorities. Their presence intersects with issues addressed by courts such as the United States District Court for the Central District of California and legislation debated in the California State Legislature.
The coalition emerged in the 1960s from barrios in Los Angeles, influenced by migration patterns involving Central America, Mexico, and communities in San Diego County and Orange County, with roots in street conflicts and prison dynamics documented in reports by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and analyses by scholars at University of California, Los Angeles, University of Southern California, and Stanford University. Their consolidation tied to the Mexican Mafia in the 1970s intersected with incarceration waves at facilities like San Quentin State Prison, Folsom State Prison, and Pelican Bay State Prison, prompting federal responses including operations led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and task forces combining the Drug Enforcement Administration and state prosecutors such as those in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and the United States Attorney for the Central District of California.
Organizationally they function as a loose confederation of neighborhood-based subsets tied to prison hierarchies under influence from the Mexican Mafia leadership, with enforcement and communication channels monitored by agencies like the Bureau of Prisons and state correctional administrators at institutions including Rikers Island (in comparative analyses) and California Institution for Men. Local cliques in cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Chicago, and Houston maintain autonomy while recognizing sanctions from prison-based authorities; prosecutorial strategies have been developed by offices such as the United States Department of Justice and county district attorneys including Los Angeles County District Attorney and San Diego County District Attorney.
Territorial presence spans municipal neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, suburban zones in Orange County, port areas in Long Beach, border regions near Tijuana, and urban centers across the United States including San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Chicago, New York City, and Miami. Influence extends into transnational corridors involving Mexican cartels operating in states like Sinaloa, connections scrutinized by the Drug Enforcement Administration and referenced in cases in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
Criminal activities attributed to these groups include narcotics distribution linked to trafficking routes investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, violent crimes prosecuted in federal courts such as the United States District Court for the Central District of California, extortion cases litigated by county prosecutors, and organized theft and robbery examined by municipal police departments like the Los Angeles Police Department and the San Diego Police Department. Gang culture draws on symbols, rituals, and codes recorded in ethnographic work by researchers at University of California, Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard University, and entered legal debate in decisions from appellate courts including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Law enforcement responses include multiagency operations led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, task forces combining the Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and prosecutions by the United States Attorney General and local district attorneys such as those in Los Angeles County and San Diego County. Civil litigation and consent decrees have involved entities like the United States Department of Justice and oversight from courts including the United States District Court for the Northern District of California; correctional policy changes at institutions such as Pelican Bay State Prison and legislative initiatives in the California State Legislature have aimed to address prison gang management and public safety.
Visual and linguistic identifiers include the use of the number "13" in homage to the Mexican Mafia and iconography referencing barrios in Los Angeles and neighborhoods in San Diego, as well as hand signs and tattoos examined in forensic reports by the FBI and municipal police departments including the Los Angeles Police Department and the Chicago Police Department. These markers appear in criminal investigations, evidentiary exhibits in trials before courts such as the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and academic studies hosted by institutions like California State University, Los Angeles.
Numerous local subsets—often called "cliques"—operate in municipalities including Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, Oxnard, Santa Ana, San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, Riverside, Stockton, Modesto, Sacramento, Tulsa, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Miami, and New York City. High-profile prosecutions have involved defendants tried in courts such as the United States District Court for the Central District of California and investigated by the FBI and the DEA, with reporting and analysis by journalists at outlets like the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and broadcasters such as PBS and NBC News.
Category:Street gangs in the United States Category:Hispanic and Latino American organized crime