National Drug Intelligence Center
Attorney General's Report to Congress on the Growth of Violent Street Gangs in Suburban Areas
April 2008

Cross-Border Criminal Activities

Gang members increasingly conduct criminal activity across the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders. Gangs smuggle drugs, firearms, and aliens across the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders. The NDTS revealed that most gang-related criminal activity along the U.S.-Mexico Border occurs in South Texas and California (see Appendix E, Map 11). Several regional- and national-level gangs operate in the Del Rio/Eagle Pass, Laredo, and Lower Rio Grande Valley areas of South Texas. Street and prison gangs such as Mexikanemi (Texas Mexican Mafia), Tri-City Bombers, Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos, and Texas Syndicate transport and distribute illicit drugs throughout the South Texas area. Some of these gangs reportedly have established associate gangs or chapters in border cities in Mexico. A number of gangs also operate in San Diego and Los Angeles. Street and prison gangs such as Sureņos 13, 18th Street, and Mexican Mafia (La Eme) maintain significant influence over most of the local suburban and rural gangs in these areas. They work very closely with Mexican DTOs located in Tijuana, Mexico, to smuggle drugs and illegal aliens into the United States.

Gangs pose a growing problem to law enforcement along the U.S.-Canada border, particularly the border areas in the New England and Pacific Northwest regions of the country. Several regional- and national-level gangs, including Asian Boyz, Hells Angels, and Outlaws, smuggle large quantities of illicit drugs across the U.S.-Canada border in New England; they often conduct their smuggling operations in association with members of transnational criminal and drug trafficking organizations. According to law enforcement officials in the Pacific Northwest, several regional-and national-level gangs, particularly Hells Angels, engage in cross-border criminal activity in their jurisdictions. The Hells Angels OMG operates chapters in several Canadian and U.S. cities. These chapters maintain communications with each other, often coordinating cross-border criminal activities such as drug trafficking and money laundering.

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Cross-Jurisdictional Connections

National- and regional-level gangs pose a multi-jurisdictional threat because various chapters and sets of specific gangs typically maintain cross-jurisdictional connections. National- and regional-level gangs, which have chapters or sets in multiple states and usually in multiple cities within a state (see Appendices B and C), pose a multi-jurisdictional threat as the chapters and sets frequently coordinate and conduct criminal activity in concert with one another. Gang members in various jurisdictions often maintain strong ties with each other through friendships or family relationships. Gangs not only maintain connections with other chapters or sets within their own gang, but sometimes also maintain connections with other gangs. For example, Florencia 13, which operates in at least five states, is subordinate to the Mexican Mafia (La Eme) prison gang and claims Sureņos 13 affiliation.

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Emerging Trends

• Drug trafficking organizations and national-level gangs are improving the organizational effectiveness of local suburban gangs. Most local suburban gangs are loosely structured and lack operational sophistication when initially formed. However, through affiliations with better-organized DTOs and national-level gangs, suburban gangs have become more structured in their operations, increasing the overall effectiveness of their criminal activity.
   
• Gangs operating in suburban communities are increasingly using sophisticated counter-law enforcement techniques to decrease their risk of apprehension. According to law enforcement reporting, some gangs in suburban communities use video surveillance cameras, radio scanners, and countersurveillance techniques before and during criminal operations.
   
• Gang members are increasingly using the Internet to communicate with each other, organize their gangs, recruit new members, and challenge rival gangs. Most gang-related Internet activity is centered on specific gang home pages or social networking sites such as MySpace. This medium allows gang members to conduct their activities across multiple jurisdictions.
   
• Gang members are increasingly using electronic communication methods to securely and anonymously exchange information regarding specific criminal activity such as drug deals or planned violent acts, including shootings. These methods typically include prepaid cell phones (for voice conversations and text messaging), encrypted e-mail, and prepaid phone cards. Some gang members also use Internet telephone¹⁰ services to securely communicate. In communicating electronically, gang members frequently use their own gang-specific symbols and coded language.
   
• Gangs in suburban and urban locations frequently use gang members from other locations to carry out violent crimes. This reduces local law enforcement's ability to identify suspects and connect crimes to local gang members.
   
• Once gangs have established a foothold in suburban communities, they often attempt to further expand their operations into surrounding rural communities. As a result, many rural communities are encountering increased levels of violent crime and retail drug distribution.

End Note

10. Internet telephony enables telephone calls to be placed over the Internet.

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