Los Mexicles
| Founded | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Tennessee Colony, Texas, United States |
| Years active | 1987- |
| Territory | Texas and North Mexico |
| Ethnicity | Mexicans and Mexican-Americans |
| Membership | 14,000 |
| Leader(s) | Jose Marquez (founder) |
| Criminal activities | Murder, kidnapping, robbery drug trafficking, vandalism, money laundering, extortion, people smuggling and illegal immigration |
Los Mexicles is a Mexican street gang, who work as armed wings for two of Mexican drug cartels, Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel. For the Gulf Cartel, they work in South Texas and Rio Grande Valley as armed wing and drug traffickers and dealers. For the Sinaloa Cartel, they work in Ciudad Juárez as assassins for the cartel.
Los Mexicles was founded by Mexican native Jose "El Maestro" (The Master) Marquez in 1987 at the Cofield state prison in Tennessee Colony, Texas. Marquez's objective of forming the organization was to unite all incarcerated Mexican nationals in Texas prisons. The "paisas", as they are also known, were the most vulnerable against the Texas Syndicate and predatory black gangs. These violent gangs often robbed the paisas of the comissary so thousands of incarcerated Mexicans joined Los Mexicles. Prospective Mexicle members were required to prove their valor by attacking black inmates.
The gang's symbols are the Mexican flag, Mexican eagle, rattlesnake on a cactus. Other symbols include Tequila and Mezcal bottles, Borrachos (drunks), Puro Raza Mexicana (Pure Mexican Race), Estados Unidos Mexicanos (United Mexican States).
All prison gangs such as Aryan Brotherhood, Mexican Mafia, Public Enemy No. 1 and the Texas Chicano Brotherhood are all predators, Los Mexicles became a deadly predator in no time. The gang began recruiting Texas Hispanics and mirroring the radical tendencies of criminal organizations such as the Texas Syndicate and the Mexikanemi. The gang became profit oriented and began extorting weaker Mexican inmates causing the gang to lose support of many Mexican nationals.
In 2001, a power struggle erupted between the gang's founder Jose Marquez and the 5 generals. Marquez demanded and banned the gang to stop committing acts of extortion and believed it contradicted it's original principles. The gang's generals ignored Marquez's demand and stripped him of his rank as President and ordered a hit on him. The attack was carried out at the J.B. Conally unit soon after, leaving Marquez in critical condition.
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