Sureños

Lettering of the gang as a tattoo on the back of a member.

The Sureños (Spanish for southerners ) are a group of Latin American street gangs that originated in the barrios of Southern California .

Origin and Distribution

Although the Sureños are native to Southern California, they have influence over many parts of the United States and other countries. The gang's roots lie in a prison dispute between the Mexican Mafia (La Eme) and the Nuestra Familia (NF) in the early 1970s . Those who had teamed up with NF settled in Northern California (norteños = northerners). In addition to Southern California, the Sureños appear in more than 20 US states (mainly in the southwest and in the central states and more rarely in central California and northern California). The greatest amount of Sureños is found in Southern California, especially Los Angeles County , Orange County , San Diego County, and the Inland Empire Region . Norteños appear mostly in the northern parts of California, but also in the southwest and central states. From a criminological point of view, they are mainly involved in drug trafficking and related crimes. Bakersfield is considered to be a "border town" between the areas of Sureños and Norteños .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Kinnear, Karen L .: Gangs: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues) . ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, Calif 2008, ISBN 1-59884-125-4 , p. 192.
2. ↑ http://www.sampsonsheriff.com/otherforms/20051011_surenos.pdf