Mexican drug cartels strengthen ties with US gangs
By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Posted: 10/28/2011 12:49:21 PM MDT

Mexican drug cartels are strengthening alliances with gangs in the United States beyond ethnic, ideological and geographic boundaries, warns a new report by the federal National Gang Intelligence Center.
The gang-cartel link is most prominently seen in El Paso between the Barrio Azteca gang and the Juárez drug cartel but similar alliances are emerging in various parts of the country, according to the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment.

El Paso police report a drop in gang membership and criminal gang activity but nationally, gangs are expanding, evolving and becoming more sophisticated, the National Gang Threat Assessment reported.

"Federal, state and local law enforcement officials are observing a growing nexus between the Mexican drug cartels, illegal alien smuggling rings and U.S.-based gangs," the study stated.

The recently-released report stated that different cartels are aligned with various gangs, including gangs that work with more than one cartel depending on the situation.

Local law enforcement officers said most street gangs in El Paso don't deal directly with Mexican cartels but the alliance between the Barrio Azteca gang and the Juárez drug cartel is well documented.

The Barrio Azteca was formed in the mid-1980s by El Pasoans in state prison and has since grown into one of the most active regional crime networks with branches in Juárez and Midland-Odessa.

According to the national gang report, Barrio Azteca members are found as far away as Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

Aztecas have served as enforcers, smugglers and foot soldiers for the Juárez cartel both in Mexico and the United States.

"Ties have grown between them and it is all because of money and drugs," said Sgt. Alberto Telles of the El Paso County sheriff's gang intelligence squad. "Both the Barrio Azteca and Sureños have established ties (with cartels) to get cheaper prices on drugs. They have essentially eliminated the middle man and have gone (to) deal directly to the supplier."

Sureños are a "gang nation," or an alliance of gangs, that grew out of Southern California and is now the fastest expanding such alliance in the U.S., the federal report stated.

The National Gang Threat Assessment reported Sureños have been allied with the Tijuana drug cartel and the Sinaloa cartel, which for nearly four years has been at war with the Juárez cartel for control of drug routes in the state of Chihuahua.

In recent years in El Paso, there has been hostility between Barrio Azteca and Sureño gangsters that has escalated into stabbings and assaults, investigators have said.

Sheriff officials said there were 68 confirmed Barrio Azteca members and 31Sureño members last week at the El Paso County Jail Annex. Numbers fluctuate as inmates are released or arrive in jail. Rival gangs are kept separate to avoid trouble.

Last year, there were 6,188 street and motorcycle gang members in El Paso County making it the fifth Texas county with the largest gang population, according to the National Gang Threat Assessment. The figure does not include prison gang members.

El Paso Police Department recently reported 3,677 documented gang members in its database, a drop of about 2,000 gang members compared with 2009. The federal report said the Mexican border offers gangs criminal opportunities that may not normally be found in other cities.

For example, many gangs - including the Barrio Azteca - have become involved in immigrant smuggling because it is lucrative and less risky than drug trafficking. The typical undocumented Mexican immigrant pays $1,200 to $2,500 to be smuggled into the U.S. with immigrants from other countries pay higher fees.

Relationships between Mexican cartels and U.S. gangs on the border are the result of proximity and strong family ties between many U.S. Hispanic gangs with family and friends in Mexico.

The report also stated that increased collaboration between U.S. gangs and Mexican cartels has altered the dynamics of the drug trade. Historically, gangs were retail or mid-level drug dealers but are now purchasing drugs directly from the cartels and eliminating mid-level drug wholesalers.

The assessment cited a Drug Enforcement Administration report stating that Sinaloa cartel members in Los Angeles are using local street gang members to assist in kidnappings, drug operations and the collection of drug proceeds.

Mexican cartels have also expanded their influence beyond the Mexican-American community.

Mexican narco-traffickers "are known to regularly collaborate with U.S.-based street and prison gang members and occasionally work with OMG (outlaw motorcycle gangs) and white supremacist groups, purely for financial gain.

"The prospect of financial gain is resulting in the suspension of traditional racial and ideological division among U.S. prison gangs, providing (Mexican drug trafficking organizations) the means to further expand their influence over drug trafficking in the United States," the report stated.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_19215212