Los Angeles Gangs in Oaxaca

Los Angeles is known as the gang capital of the world – it is home to hundreds of street gangs.  A recent documentary entitled Made in America, for example, traces the birth of the Bloods and the Crips  -- gangs now known around the world -- in the context of the history of Los Angeles.  Los Angeles has also given birth to other now infamous gangs such as 18^th Street and Mara Salvatrucha. 

The migration of Los Angeles-based gangs throughout the United States is well documented.  Similarly, the exportation of LA gangs to El Salvador, largely thanks to U.S. deportation policies, has received widespread attention.  Walking around the streets of Oaxaca, I began to see that Los Angeles gangs have also made their way to the relatively isolated city of Oaxaca, as evidenced by their graffiti covering walls all over the city.

The gangs most widely represented in graffiti in the city of Oaxaca are gangs with roots in Southern California -- 18^th Street, Vicky’s Town (VST), and Sureños, also represented by “13.”  MS is also represented in some graffiti, although it was not as prevalent as the others, at least in the areas I visited.  Another gang represented by “21” also has a presence in Oaxaca; however, I do not know whether the origins of this gang can be traced back to California.

In conversations with people who work in the justice system, the problem of gangs repeatedly came up.  The most violent incidents in the colonias – shootings and stabbings – are attributed to gangs. 

And then there was Zoila’s nephew. I got to know Zoila in Oaxaca.  I ran into her one day -- her eyes swollen and her face puffy.  “Mataron a mi sobrino,” she whispered.  “They killed my nephew.”  He had gone to the United States in search of work several years ago.  While there, he joined a gang.  She remembers that when he returned to Oaxaca last year he had MS tattooed in large block letters across his abdomen.  According to Zoila, he was shot because the gang in the colonia where her nephew lived did not get along with his gang.

                                                                                

At a time when the United States is funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into Mexico in support of efforts to combat drug trafficking and crime, it is ironic that we are also exporting a social phenomenon that is exacerbates these problems in many ways.