Norteños

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Norteños
Founded 1968[1]
Founding location Northern California
Years active 1968 - Present
Territory Northern California, Central California
Ethnicity Predominately Mexican-American
Criminal activities Murder,[2] Drug trafficking,[2][3]arms trafficking, assault,[2][3]Extortion, auto theft,[2][3] burglary,[2] robbery[2][3]
Allies Black Guerrilla Family, Nuestra Familia, Latin Kings
Rivals Sureños, Mexican Mafia, Fresno Bulldogs, MS-13, Crips

The Norteños [noɾ'teɲos] (Spanish: Northerners, Norteñas for females), are the various, loosely affiliated street gangs that pay tribute to the Nuestra Familia while in Federal and State correctional facilities.[4] Norteños may refer to Northern California as Norte, Spanish for "north." Their biggest rivals are the Sureños from Southern California.[5][6] The statewide dividing line between Norteños and Sureños has roughly been accepted as the rural community of Delano, California.[7][6]

Contents

History[edit]

In 1968,[8] Mexican American inmates of the California state prison system separated into two rival groups, Norteños (northerners)[9] and Sureños (southerners), according to the locations of their hometowns (the north–south dividing line is near Delano, California). Norteños, affiliated with the Nuestra Familia, were prison enemies of the Southern Latinos, who are composed of members and affiliates of La Eme, better known as the Mexican Mafia. While the Mexican Mafia had initially been created to protect Mexicans in prison, there was a perceived level of abuse by members of La Eme towards the imprisoned Latinos from rural farming areas of Northern California.[10] The spark that led to the ongoing war between Norteños and members of the Mexican Mafia involved a situation in which a member of La Eme allegedly stole a pair of shoes from a Northerner. This event put into motion the longest-running gang war in the state of California.[10]

Location[edit]

Norteños are most usually found in Northern California, with strong presences in cities such as San Francisco, Modesto, Salinas, Stockton, Fresno, Turlock, Sacramento, San Jose, and most cities in the bay area. They are also in many other states with especially strong presences in Eastern Washington state (specifically in Yakima County), and Southern Oregon (Medford and Jackson County). Nortenos have trafficked drugs across the Mexican border. Their receiving members include other Nortenos, Sinaloa Cartel and also in few cases Mexican Narcs. There are Norteños as far away from the West Coast as New York, Texas, Colorado and other states in the Midwest United States such as Kansas.[7]

Culture[edit]

Norteños use the number 14 which represents the fourteenth letter of the alphabet, the letter N, in order to pay allegiance to Nuestra Familia.[11][12] It is sometimes written as "X4", or in Roman numerals as "XIV". Norteño emblems and clothing are based on the color red.[11] A typical Norteño outfit is being flamed up including a red belt, red shoes, and red shoelaces.[11] They will also favor sports team apparel that shows their affiliation through symbolism such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers football, UNLV, K-Swiss, and San Francisco 49ers. Norteños typically refer to each other with the term "Ene", which is Spanish for the letter "N".[11] Some Norteños will tattoo themselves with four dots .[13] A Norteño derogatorily refers to a Sureño as a "Scrap" or "Sur (Sewer) Rat" Scrapa . Norteños also lay claim to images of the Mexican-American labor movement, such as the sombrero, machete, and "Huelga bird," symbols of the United Farm Workers.[13]

Criminal Activity[edit]

Norteños are engaged in a variety of criminal activity but focus mainly on the street level distribution of narcotics. Like many other gangs, their biggest source of revenue is drug sales.[citation needed]

Operation Black Widow[edit]

Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate the group, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. In 2000 and 2001, 22 members were indicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges including several who were allegedly serving as high-ranking gang leaders while confined in Pelican Bay.[9] Thirteen of the defendants pleaded guilty; the other cases are still ongoing. Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trafficking. The largest of the federal investigations was Operation Black Widow.[9] In the aftermath of Operation Black Widow, the five highest ranking leaders of the Norteños were transferred to a federal supermaximum prison in Florence, Colorado.

See also[edit]

Portal icon Gangs portal

References[edit]

  1. ^ Valdez , A. (2000, April 10). Tracking surenos. Police. Law Enforcement Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.policemag.com/Channel/Gangs/Articles/2000/02/In-the-Hood-and-Surenos-Tracking-a-Gang.aspx
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Gangs in the United States" (PDF). Narcotics Digest Weekly: 1–12. October 4, 2005. 
  3. ^ a b c d Parker, B. Oakland City Attorney. (2012). Fruitvale anti-gang injunction. Retrieved from website: http://www.oaklandcityattorney.org/Notable/Nortenos%20injunction.html
  4. ^ Tulare County Sheriff. (2007). Gang summit. Retrieved from website: http://www.co.tulare.ca.us/pdfs/LawEnforcementPresentation.pdf
  5. ^ Sampson County Sheriff's Office. (2005). Sureños. Retrieved from website: http://www.sampsonsheriff.com/otherforms/20051011_surenos.pdf
  6. ^ a b Reiterman, Tim (2008-02-24). "Small towns, big gang issues". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2008-02-23. 
  7. ^ a b Morales, G. (2007). "Nortenos". Gang Prevention Services, Retrieved from http://www.gangpreventionservices.org/norteno.asp
  8. ^ Kinnear, Karen L. (2008). Gangs: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues). Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. p. 192. ISBN 1-59884-125-4. 
  9. ^ a b c "Federal indictments crack vast prison crime ring". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on 2001-05-08. Retrieved 2001-02-21. 
  10. ^ a b Hennessey, Virginia (2003-11-23). "An End to the Cycle". The Monterey County Herald. Retrieved 2009-06-13. 
  11. ^ a b c d Bulwa, Demian (2005-05-27). "Sureño gang's threat growing in Bay Area". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-06-13. 
  12. ^ Barkan, S. E., & Bryjak, G. J. (2011). Fundamentals of criminal justice: A sociological view. (2nd ed., p. 115). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Barlett Learning.
  13. ^ a b Herendeen, Susan (2007-09-20). "Gangs thriving in Modesto". The Modesto Bee. Retrieved 2009-06-13. 

External links[edit]

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