The Mexican Mafia

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The Mexican Mafia is a prolific gang organization that includes both criminal street and prison gangs in California. Also known as La Eme, for the Spanish word "M", the Mexican Mafia was founded from within prison walls as a collation of gangs in order to protect Hispanics from other gangs within the California prison system. As La Eme expanded, the group saw the potential for profiting from drug sales, gambling and extortion rackets inside prison. In response, leaders placed taxes on these activities, forcing Latino inmates to hand over a small percentage of profits to the gang. Later on, La Eme took this approach to the street. By joining forces with East Los Angeles street gang leaders, La Eme began to control criminal activities such …show more content…

La Eme influences local street gangs by establishing a code of conduct and requir­ing street gangs to pay taxes on illegal activities such as drug sales. The Eme or­ders its subordinates, Sureños, to partake in tax collection, assaults, and murders any street subordinate that violates Eme rules. According to the 2013 gang report from the National Alliance of Gang Investigators Associations (NAGIA), approximately 157 Eme members – 99 percent of which are incarcerated and secured in Security Housing Units – puppeteer more than 100,000 Sureño gang members on the streets and in prison yards across the country. Sureños financially sustain the Eme by serving as foot soldiers, in exchange for their servitude, Sureño receive protection in prison and use their Eme connection to gain credibility on the streets. According to the Los Angeles PD, one of the major factors contributing to increased gangs, gang membership and violence has been the lucrative narcotics trade, with rival gangs vying for the greatest market share. During the last three years, there were over 16,398 verified violent gang crimes in the City of Los Angeles. These include 491 homicides, nearly 7,047 felony assaults, approximately 5,518 robberies and just under 98 rapes. La Eme has a significant influence and association with many of Los Angeles reported gang

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