Barrio Azteca
| Founded | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Founding location | El Paso |
| Territory | Mexico : Chihuahua United States |
| Ethnicity | Mexicans and Mexican American |
| Activities | Arms trafficking, arson, assault, auto theft, drug trafficking, extortion, human trafficking, illegal immigration, kidnapping, money laundering, murder, prostitution, and racketeering |
| Allies | La Línea, Juarez Cartel |
| Rivals | Los Mexicles, Artistas Asesinos, Sinaloa Cartel |
The Barrio Azteca, or Los Aztecas, is a Mexican prison gang originally based in El Paso, Texas. The group worked as a paramilitary armed wing for the Juárez Cartel in 1997 and it is currently operating as a branch of the powerful La Línea (gang),[1] and has relocated to Ciudad Juárez.[2]
Eduardo Ravelo took control of the gang after the war against the Sinaloa Cartel on 2008.[3] The gang operates in at least inside Mexican prisons also, where it produces marijuana and heroin to deal inside mexican prisons. Another relative and close associate is Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.
Origins
Barrio Azteca (BA) was started in 1986 in the Coffield Unit of TDCJ by five street gang members from El Paso, Texas. All five had been members of the street gang X14. The Barrio Azteca was formed to unite El Paso street gang members who had been incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The Barrio Azteca began with 35 members and consists of over 1,000 members with most of them being from West Texas. but members are now being found in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico and Mexico.
Barrio Azteca have always recruited heavily from street gangs, mainly of street gang members locked down in the county jails. A new member must be sponsored by a Sergeant or above, with the sponsor being responsible for teaching the recruit all BA rules. A Captain must approve the new member before he is accepted into the gang. Some of the more favored street gangs include the Puro Barrio Sandoval, Barrio Cantu Rifa, Varrio Hacienda Heights, Colonel Street Locos, and Varrio Northeast. Outside the jails, the street gangs are used to traffic narcotics and conduct other business for the BA. The Barrio Azteca collects a 10% tax on all of the street gang profits. At one time, the BA were at war with three street gangs, the Nasty Boys, White Fence, and Los Fatherless, however this war was suspended due to another war starting with the Texas Syndicate and Mexikanemi. The Barrio Azteca finally signed an armistice with the Mexikanemi on March 15, 1997 at the Coffield Unit, with the armistice / treaty now being extended and still in effect. As of August 1998, they are finalizing a full peace treaty between the two gangs.[4]
See also
References
- ^ "La Familia: Another Deadly Mexican Syndicate". Zimbio. February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ "Siete grandes cárteles de la droga operan en México: PGR". hora cero en juarez (in Spanish). 28 December 2005. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ "Barrio AZteca rules texas prisons". Hispanic News Network. February 8, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ davadnai.users.omniglobal.net