18th Street or “Barrio 18,” is one of themost notorious and violent gangsin the Western Hemisphere.
The group started back in the 1960s after Clanton 14, one of the oldest Hispanic gangs in the city, rejected the idea of being more inclusive and accepting any members who weren’t Mexican.
To retaliate, the younger Mexican-Americans formed 18th Street and started recruiting from other nationalities to create one of thefirst multiracial gangs.
Today, the street gang operates as loosely organized cells, or “cliques,” according to the Department of National Intelligence, often reporting to a leader who oversees activity in a certain region.
The gang gained prominence during the 1992 LA riots, when rival gangs teamed up against the LAPD after the acquittal of four white officers who were charged with severely beating Rodney King, an African-American man.
Most recently, asThe California Post reported, history repeated itself — as an alliance between the city’s most infamous gangs grew in order to make money.
MS-13 and 18th Street — once sworn enemies — set aside differences and decades of violence to form a “super gang,” cashing in on drugs, extortion, and a booming underground casino trade that now rivals narcotics for profitability.
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18th Street works as a transnational organization, building its criminal empire around drug trafficking, human smuggling, and intimidation through violence — including murder.
To move up in the ranks, members must commit heinous crimes that further the gang’s interests, according to theDepartment of Justice. 18th Street often targets rival gangs, their own members who violate their rules, and people whom they believe snitched to law enforcement.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
