Norteños

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Norteños
Founded1968; 54 years ago (1968)[1]
Founding locationPier Mechanic
Years active1968–present
TerritoryMostly in Pier, Willowfield Oregon and Mexico
EthnicityMexican American, Native American
Criminal activities
Allies
Rivals

Norteños (Spanish: [noɾˈteɲos] meaning Northerners;) are the various, affiliated gangs that pay tribute to Nuestra Familia while in California state and federal correctional facilities.[4] Norteños may refer to Northern California as Norte Califas. Their biggest rivals are the Sureños from Southern California.[5][6] The statewide north–south dividing line between Norteños and Sureños has roughly been accepted as Bakersfield, California.[6][7] The gang's membership consists primarily of Mexican Americans.

History[edit]

Norteños is a Hispanic based street criminal gangster operating in the Playa area and beyond. Their leader, Jueno_Guilermo or commonly called "Lermo" is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who is being held in San Andreas. Correctional Facility (SACF), started its criminal activities by rounding up subordinates and recruiting outsiders to supply drugs to prisons. Teo Albert or commonly known as "Albert" is a drug dealer who is now Miro's righthand man. There are several other members who have been trusted by Miro, including Juaquin Colans as a drug dealer outside the prison area and also Marquello Gerardo as a regulator of conditions and people who are trusted by prison guards to make it easier to run their business.

Norteños is one of the sizable youth gangs in the Western Hemisphere. Like its more notorious rivals, the Surteños had cells operating from Central America to Canada and had far greater experience than any other gang in the United States.

With interests in several different illicit activities, the Imperial is one of the more significant criminal threats in the region. However, it is questionable how far these units are coordinated across borders, or even within the same city. The East Side Imperial first appeared as a small street gang in Los Santos, Playa to be exact and it was the Mexicans who dominated this Imperial gang. While some note its origins in the late 1950's, the gang began to form in the 1980's after splitting from the notorious Clanton 13 gang for being arrested in the city after police brutally beat Teo_Albert, a Mexican man's right-hand man Gang leader Imperial.

Initially, many cell groups known as Mexican immigrants in Los Santos, dominated neighborhoods such as those in Playa east of Los Santos. However, when others joined Mexico's immigrant population, Norteños members recruited members from diverse backgrounds such as the unemployed and even those without families, a development that would spread the group to other countries, especially in Central America.

Efforts by US law enforcement to effectively slow down the growth of gangs have yet to be proven. In the late 1990s, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) task force, along with local law enforcement, brought down several of Norteño top leaders in the 90s. However, this did little to hinder the gang as they provided another basis for operating and recruiting new members from federal prisons. "chairman" or "leader", most of whom are in the prison system. They coordinate all criminal activities. A chairman keeps a notebook that records all finances, murders, drugs, and weapons. There are also leaders outside the prison system, aka, "outside managers," Outside, the gang organizes itself in "canchas." Cancha is a territorial division that does not have to be based on city delineation. every cancha has Imperial are rival gangsters who are no less deadly in Los Santos, they often carry out acts of terror to show strength against their opponents, such as circulating illegal goods, namely drugs or weapons and carrying out kidnapping acts to identify gang members. In this case, they make special tattoos on their bodies including the words "Imperial" they are also tattooed with the gang symbol, namely IPRL which stands for Imperial.

Criminal activity[edit]

Tagging (graffiti) to vandalize a rival gang's territory

Norteños have trafficked drugs across the Mexican border. Their receiving members include other Norteños, and in few cases Mexican narcs.[7]

On January 9, 2005, in Ceres, California in Stanislaus County, Officer Sam Ryno was the first to respond to a call of a man with a gun in front of George's Liquors. Andres Raya, a U.S. Marine on leave after serving in Iraq, was armed with an SKS rifle and opened fire on officers, hitting Officer Ryno and killing Sergeant Stevenson. Raya was shot dead some time later after he opened fire on SWAT team members.[8]

Law enforcement officials claimed Raya had been involved in gangs for years prior to him signing up for military service. Modesto authorities discovered information during the investigation into the shooting that shows Raya was a Norteño gang member who was not involved in combat during his tour of duty in Iraq. A cooperative effort between local law enforcement, federal and military agencies revealed a large amount of information about Raya in a short amount of time.[9]

In August 2013, a shooting done by a documented Norteno killed 3 people and wounded four others at Taco Choice, a Mexican restaurant and bar in Salinas, California. The gunman, a 21-year-old Giovanni Pacheco, was sentenced to life without parole.[10]

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 State Prison in northern California.[11] 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.[11] In the aftermath of Operation Black Widow, the five highest ranking leaders of the Norteños were transferred to the federal supermax prison, ADX Florence in Florence, Colorado.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Tracking Surenos - Article - POLICE Magazine". Policemag.com. February 1, 2000. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Gang Injunction". Oaklandcityattorney.org. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d "Gangs in the United States" (PDF). Narcotics Digest Weekly: 1–12. October 4, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2006.
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 2, 2013. Retrieved February 29, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Report" (PDF). sampsonsheriff.com.
  6. ^ a b Reiterman, Tim (February 24, 2008). "Small towns, big gang issues". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 2, 2008.
  7. ^ a b "Nortenos". Gang Prevention Services. Archived from the original on April 20, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  8. ^ Finz, Stacy; Stannard, Matthew B. "Police shoot Marine dead after local sergeant is slain / Liquor store's video surveillance camera recorded shootout" from San Francisco Chronicle (January 11, 2005)
  9. ^ New Information About Andres Raya and His Gang Affiliation Archived March 4, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, press release from City of Ceres (January 14, 2005)
  10. ^ "Man accused of gunning down seven at Salinas restaurant may face death penalty". Monterey County Weekly.
  11. ^ a b "Federal indictments crack vast prison crime ring". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on May 8, 2001. Retrieved February 21, 2001.

External links[edit]

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