Transnational gangs can be described as gangs that are located in multiple countries. When these gangs commit crimes in one country, their plans for the crime can sometimes be put together in another country. These gangs or mara are able to move around efficiently from one place to another. Transnational gangs are not a normal street gang because they are much larger in size and located in more than one country; they are considered to be able to pose a significant threat for the safety of the countries they are located in. [1]
The Mara Salvatrucha, or the MS-13 gang are located in the United States, Canada, Mexico and El Salvador. [2] The Mara Salvatrucha gang was founded in the 1980s in Los Angeles, California. [3] The original members of the Mara Salvatrucha were refugees from El Salvador that came to the United States. [2] The Barrio 18 or the 18th Street Gang is the Mara Salvatrucha's main rivals. [4]
The 18th Street Gang, also known as the Barrio 18, are located in the United States, Canada, Central America and Mexico. The 18th Street Gang is a youth gang. The current gang was founded in the 1980s in Los Angeles, California. The 18th Street Gang was originally part of the Clanton 14 Gang, but they divided in the 1980s; the gang was originally started by Mexican immigrants. [5] The Mara Salvatucha are considered the 18th Street Gang's enemies. [6]
The Barrio Azteca are a prison gang that are located in the United States and Mexico. The Barrio Azteca was founded in 1986 in El Paso, Texas. The prison gang was started by Mexican prisoners that were incarcerated in El Paso. The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the Barrio Azteca's major enemies. [7]
The Hells Angels are an outlaw motorcycle gang. They are located in the United States, Europe, Canada, Oceania, Africa, Asia, South America and Central America. [8] The gang was founded on March 7, 1948 in Fontana, California and San Bernardino, California. [9] The Hells Angels are considered to be a gang because they fit the definition of a gang; one of the requirements to be considered a gang is to participate in some form of crime. The crimes that the Hells Angels participate in include the transportation, production and distribution of drugs, assault, homicide, motorcycle theft, extortion, money laundering, and sex trafficking. [10]
The Black Pistons are an outlaw motorcycle gang. They are located in the United States, Wales, Scotland, Iceland, Australia, England, Norway, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Germany and Canada. The gang was founded in Germany in 2002 as a support for the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. [11] They are considered a gang because they meet the requirements of a gang, which include committing crimes. The crimes that the Black Pistons commit are theft, assault, intimidation, extortion, fraud and many others. [10]
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectively, in illegal, and possibly violent, behavior, with such behavior often constituting a form of organized crime.
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is an outlaw motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. Formed in San Leon, Texas, in 1966, the Bandidos MC is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,500 members and 303 chapters located in 22 countries, making it the second-largest motorcycle club in the world behind the Hells Angels.
The 18th Street Gang, also known as Eighteen St, Barrio 18, Mara 18, or simply 18 in North America, is a multi-ethnic transnational criminal organization that started as a street gang in Los Angeles. It is one of the largest transnational criminal gangs in Los Angeles, with 30,000-50,000 members between the United States, Mexico, and Central America and is also allied with the Mexican Mafia, another US-based crime organization. A United States Department of Justice report featured the following statement regarding 18th Street and rival gang MS-13, "These two gangs have turned the Central American northern triangle into the area with the highest homicide rate in the world."
The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, incorporated as the American Outlaws Association or its acronym, A.O.A., is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Founded in McCook, Illinois in 1935, the Outlaws MC is the oldest outlaw biker club in the world. With 441 chapters located in 43 countries, and a membership of over 3,000, the club is also the third-largest in the world, behind the Hells Angels and the Bandidos. Outlaws members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
Pagan's Motorcycle Club, or simply the Pagans, is an outlaw motorcycle club formed by Lou Dobkin in 1957 in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The club rapidly expanded and by 1959, the Pagans, originally clad in blue denim jackets and riding Triumphs, began to evolve along the lines of the stereotypical one percenter motorcycle club.
An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or bikie club, is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the biker group.
A mara is a form of gang originating in the United States, which spread to Central American countries such as El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
The Mongols Motorcycle Club, also known as the Mongol Brotherhood or Mongol Nation, is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969, the club is headquartered in Southern California. Although the Mongols' main presence lies in California, they also have chapters nationwide in 14 states and internationally in 11 countries. Law enforcement officials estimate approximately 2,000 "full-patched" members are in the club. The Mongols are the fifth-largest outlaw biker club in the world, after the Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Outlaws and the Pagans.
Approximately 1.4 million people in the United States were part of gangs as of 2011, and more than 33,000 gangs were active in the country. These include national street gangs, local street gangs, prison gangs, outlaw motorcycle clubs, and ethnic and organized crime gangs.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Common nicknames for the club are the "H.A.", "Red & White", "HAMC", and "81". With a membership of over 6,000, and 467 charters in 59 countries, the HAMC is the largest "outlaw" motorcycle club in the world.
Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area. Over time, the gang grew into a more traditional criminal organization. MS-13 has a longtime rivalry with the 18th Street gang.
Barrio Azteca, or Los Aztecas, is a Mexican-American street and prison gang originally based in El Paso, Texas, USA and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The gang was formed in the Coffield Unit, located near Tennessee Colony, Texas by Jose "Raulio" Rivera, a prisoner from El Paso, in the early 1980s. It expanded into a transnational criminal organization that traded mainly across the US-Mexico border. Currently one of the most violent gangs in the United States, they are said to have over 3,000 members across the country in locations such as New Mexico, Texas, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania as well as at least 5,000 members in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Crime in El Salvador has been historically extremely high due to the presence of various gangs. As of 2011, there were an estimated 25000 gang members at large in El Salvador; with another 43500 in prison. The best-known gangs, called maras in colloquial Salvadoran Spanish, are Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and their rivals 18th Street; maras are hunted by death squads, including Sombra Negra. Newer rivals include the rising mara, The Rebels 13. El Salvador is one of the three countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America, along with neighboring Guatemala and Honduras, which are all afflicted with high levels of violence.
The Black Pistons Motorcycle Club is an international outlaw motorcycle club and official support club for the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, another group of motorcycle enthusiasts. Established in Neuwied, Germany in 2002, the Black Pistons have expanded throughout Europe, North America and Asia. The Outlaws use the Black Pistons chapters as a recruitment source for prospective Outlaws members.
The Road Rats Motorcycle Club (RRMC) is an English outlaw motorcycle club established in London in the 1960s. Arguably one of the "oldest and toughest motorcycle clubs in the country", the Road Rats are notorious for having fallen out with almost every motorcycle club in the United Kingdom and a few outside of the UK. The club became notable for its clashes with the English Hells Angels chapter, including a shooting on Chelsea Bridge, the Satans Slaves, in which two Road Rats were killed, and for murdering one of the founders of the Cycle Tramps motorcycle gang.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)