By Michael Webster: Syndicated Investigative Reporter. Jan 30, 2009 at 10:00PM PST
Many of American gangs have developed regular
working relationships with Mexican Drug Cartels (MDC’s)
and other international criminal organizations in Mexico,
Central America, Canada and Afghanistan. Where they develop
sources of supply for wholesale quantities of illicit drugs and to
facilitate other criminal activities. According to federal law enforcement
gang members provide Mexican MDC’s with support, such as
smuggling, transportation, and security. Specific examples include:
Some prison gangs are capable of directly controlling or
influencing the smuggling of multi-hundred kilograms of cocaine
and methamphetamine weekly into the United States from MDC’s.
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California-based, prison gangs
cooperate with Mexico-based MDC’s to smuggle wholesale
quantities of cocaine and marijuana and illegal aliens into the
United States from Mexico. According to federal authorities.
Additionally, these gangs extort money from drug and alien
traffickers transiting the U.S. Mexican Border.
Often national and international-level Hispanic street gangs
have close associations with Mexico-based MDC’s. Hispanic
gang members reportedly obtain cocaine, methamphetamine
and marijuana from the MDC’s and their surrogate Mexican gangs,
who transport the drugs to primary U.S. drug market areas for further
distribution by American street gangs.
Canada-based Chinese and Vietnamese MDC’s and criminal
groups maintain close working relationships with Asian gangs
operating in Canada and the United States. Canada-based MDC’s
are the primary suppliers of multi thousand tablet quantities of
MDMA and multi hundred pound quantities of high-potency
marijuana to Asian gangs operating in the United States. The
MDC’s also use Asian and Mexican gang members for other
aspects of drug distribution operations, prostitution, money
laundering and gunrunning in the United States and Mexico.
Gang Members are infiltrating the U.S. Military, according to high
placed American law enforcement agencies they believe members
of nearly every major street gang as well as some prison gangs and
Organized Motorcycle Gangs OMG’s have been identified on both
domestic and international military installations.
Deployments have resulted in gang members among service
members and/or dependents on or near overseas bases.
Additionally, military transfers have resulted in gang members, both
service members and dependents/relatives, moving to new areas and
establishing a gang presence.
These same gang members come out of the military and many times
return to their old neighborhoods and with their newly gained
knowledge of weapons training. These gang members with military
training provide a unique threat to law enforcement personnel because
of the distinctive military skills that they possess and their willingness
to teach these skills to fellow gang members. While the number of gang
members trained by the military is unknown, many experts estimates
the number to be in the thousands. This threat that they bring to law
enforcement is potentially significant, particularly if gang members
trained in weapons, tactics, and planning pass this instruction on to
other gang members.
In addition, gang members currently serving in the military sometimes
take advantage of their positions to engage in criminal activities such as
trafficking in weapons and drugs.
Cross-Border gang activity and relationships of U.S.-based gang
members are increasingly involved in cross-border criminal activities,
particularly in areas of Texas and California along the U.S.–Mexico
border. Much of this activity involves the trafficking of drugs and
illegal aliens from Mexico into the United States and considerably
adds to gang revenues. Further, gangs are increasingly smuggling
weapons from the United States into Mexico as payment for drugs
or to sell for a significant profit.
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