Azusa 13 is a street gang based in Azusa in the eastern San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles. Started in the 1960s, it is now one of the most aggressive Sureño street gangs, currently claiming around 400 active members.
| Founded | 1960s |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Azusa, California, United States |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Territory | San Gabriel Valley |
| Ethnicity | Mexican American |
| Membership (est.) | 401[1] |
| Activities | |
| Allies | |
| Rivals | Sentinel Boys 13, Duroc, West Covina [3] |
Territory
editAzusa 13 claims all of Azusa; however, they are most active in southern Azusa, the Atlantis Gardens neighborhood off Alosta and Rockvale Avenues, and in areas surrounding the downtown area around Azusa Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.[4]
Criminal activities
editLike many other Mexican gangs, the 13 in the name stands for the letter "M", indicating its affiliation with the Mexican Mafia.[1][5] The gang is known to tax drug sales in the area and funnels money to the Mexican Mafia.[1][2][5][6]
Involvement in hate crimes
editThe gang has been involved in terrorizing African-American residents in Los Angeles. 51 members of the Azusa 13 street gang have been indicted and convicted since 2011 for "terrorizing" African Americans in Azusa. In 2013, Santiago "Chico" Rios, a leader of the gang, was sentenced to 19 years and six months in prison by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, according to the Times, and his hearing impaired son, Louie "Lil Chico" Rios, was given a 10-year sentence. Both had pleaded guilty to conspiring to attack African Americans and chase them out of Azusa, a gang policy established in 1992, the paper said.[7] The attacks by this gang have been described as a campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[8]
Much of the racially inspired murder and mayhem was and is being directed from far away from the streets and hills of Los Angeles. As the Intelligence Report detailed in the Winter 2006 issue the powerful Mexican Mafia, a prison-based gang, had given the "green light" to the many Latino gangs it controls in Southern California to terrorize and murder black people as part of the effort to drive them out.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c Ng, Christina (8 June 2011). "Latino Gang Charged With Racial Cleansing Attacks in California Town; Over 50 members of the Varrio Azusa 13 were indicted for violating civil rights". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
The gang has about 400 members with 50 indicted yesterday. According to the indictment, 23 are already in custody and 12 fugitives are still being sought.
- ^ a b "Leader Of Azusa Street Gang Involved In Drug Trafficking And Hate Crimes Targeting African-Americans Sentenced To Nearly 20 Years" (Press release). LOS ANGELES: U.S. Attorney's Office | Central District of California. Department of Justice. 22 June 2015 [14 January 2013]. Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
Rios admitted that the Azusa 13 gang controlled the drug trafficking activity that occurred within the City of Azusa, and that members of the Azusa 13 gang would permit narcotics traffickers to distribute narcotics in exchange for a percentage of any narcotics proceeds that were generated in the gang's territory. These payments of drug proceeds – known as "rent" or "tax" – were funneled to members of the Mexican Mafia who exerted control over the gang. According to Rios, members of the Azusa 13 gang would not permit a narcotics trafficker to distribute narcotics in the City of Azusa if that individual did not give a portion of their narcotics distribution proceeds to the gang.
- ^ Day, Brian (6 September 2017) [6 March 2013]. "Puente 13 gang leader, brother sentenced to life in prison". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. LOS ANGELES. ISSN 8755-9595. OCLC 1010663846. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
Cisco was determined to grow Puente 13 to grow beyond its claimed "turf" of La Puente, Hacienda Heights, Walnut and West Covina and unincorporated areas in between to include Bassett, Valinda and Azusa – which are already claimed by local street gangs. [...] "He was definitely going to war with Azusa (13)," Pelham said.
- ^ "Azusa 13 Rico Civil Rights Indictment - Gang - Organized Crime". Scribd.
- ^ a b "Latino Gang Tried to Drive All Blacks From California City". Latino. Fox News. Associated Press. 16 December 2016 [8 June 2011]. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
Drug proceeds were then funneled to members of the Mexican Mafia who wielded control over the gang. The "13" in the gang's name — much like others in Southern California — stands for the letter 'M' and shows the affiliation with the notorious prison gang.
- ^ Quinones, Sam (7 June 2011). "Street gang charged with terrorizing blacks in Azusa; 51 indicted". Los Angeles Times. eISSN 2165-1736. ISSN 0458-3035. OCLC 3638237. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
According to the indictment, the gang also allegedly taxes drug dealers in the Azusa area, passing some of the proceeds on to members of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, a practice common among many Latino street gangs in Southern California.
- ^ Quinones, Sam (15 January 2013). "Azusa 13 street gang leader, son sentenced to prison". Los Angeles Times. eISSN 2165-1736. ISSN 0458-3035. OCLC 3638237. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
A leader of the Azusa 13 street gang and his son were sentenced in federal court Monday to lengthy prison terms after pleading guilty to conspiring to attack blacks and force them to leave the city. [...] Santiago "Chico" Rios was sentenced to 19 years and seven months in prison by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess. His son, Louie "Lil Chico" Rios, who is hearing-impaired and required a sign-language interpreter, received a 10-year sentence.
- ^ Terry, Don (15 January 2013). "Latino Gang Leader Convicted In L.A. Ethnic Cleansing Campaign". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. LCCN 97658155. OCLC 51850227. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
A Latino street gang leader and his son were sentenced in federal court Monday to lengthy prison terms for their role in a years-long campaign of racist terror and ethnic cleansing targeting African Americans in and around Los Angeles.
- ^ Mock, Brentin (16 January 2007). "Latino Gang Leader Convicted In L.A. Ethnic Cleansing Campaign". Intelligence Report. LOS ANGELES, Calif.: Southern Poverty Law Center. LCCN 97658155. OCLC 51850227. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
According to gang experts and law enforcement agents, a longstanding race war between the Mexican Mafia and the Black Guerilla family, a rival African-American prison gang, has generated such intense racial hatred among Mexican Mafia leaders, or shot callers, that they have issued a "green light" on all blacks. A sort of gang-life fatwah, this amounts to a standing authorization for Latino gang members to prove their mettle by terrorizing or even murdering any blacks sighted in a neighborhood claimed by a gang loyal to the Mexican Mafia.