Cartels/Gangs New Mexico

IN THIS SECTION     Cartels/Gangs-1a (General)    Cartels/Gangs-1b (FARC)      Cartels/Gangs-How to Stop (p. 2)    Cartels/Gangs-Female Gang Members, Traffickers (p. 3)        Cartels/Gangs-4 New Mexico here*     Cartels/Gangs  (p.5)- Tunnels - Smuggling Cartels/Gangs-Books (p.6)   *Cartels/Gangs-4 New Mexico Some Gangs or Cartels in New Mexico Juarez (also found on Cartels-1 SNM (Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico) California Gangs in New Mexico:  Surenos/CA in NM  200 Gangs Statewide as of 2015 Intro/Commentary: Codes/Stereotyping     New Mexico Gang Task Force            National Gang Center NM Listings     Miscellaneous See also:   How to stop gangs/cartels California Gangs in New Mexico JUAREZ ABC 15 dot com 2019/11/06 Map cartel influences across the US and Mexico. By Courtland Jeffrey https://www.abc15.com/news/data/map-cartel-influences-presence-across-the -united-states-and-mexico Officials are investigating activity tied to the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels, which are both active in the area where the Monday attack occurred, just 90 miles south of Douglas, Ariz. The killers were reportedly believed to be from the Juarez cartel's armed wing, "La Linea."  According to federal data, both the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels have active presences in the U.S. and parts of Mexico. Recent data obtained from the DEA and Stratfor Global Intelligence and the Federation of American Scientists shows the Sinaloa cartel with a dominant regional presence in nearly every U.S. state, including Arizona.  The Juarez cartel is dominant in New Mexico, while Texas has presences from the Sinaloa, Gulf, and Juarez cartels. https://www.abc15.com/news/data/map-cartel-influences-presence-across-the -united-states-and-mexico 200 GANGS AS OF 2015 STATEWIDE [Joe Kolb of the New Mexico Gang Taskforce] said legislation and a concerted effort between police and the community is needed to stop these gangs in their tracks before the area sees a spike in crime.  --KOAT/2015/04/09 KOAT 2015/04/09   Officials: Dangerous, violent gangs flocking to New Mexico.  By Megan Cruz https://www.koat.com/article/officials-dangerous-violent-gangs-flocking-to-new-mexico/5063259# Excerpt:  "We have currently over 200 gangs statewide," Joe Kolb said.  Kolb is with the New Mexico Gang Taskforce, a group of local law enforcement agencies that work with federal officials like the FBI and Homeland Security. He said the gangs have about 7,200 members.We know we have some Barrio Aztecas up here now in Albuquerque, and we also have MS-13 here. So we have a significant cause for concern," Kolb said.  He said people are primarily coming from California and Texas because of a perception that New Mexico laws are much friendlier to gangs.  In California and Texas, people convicted of crimes may receive harsher sentences if it's proven the crime was gang-related.  Kolb said New Mexico has nothing like that.  He said legislation and a concerted effort between police and the community is needed to stop these gangs in their tracks before the area sees a spike in crime.  "Our crime rate is 200 percent higher than comparatively sized cities," he said. "A lot of those crimes are perpetrated by people who are in gangs." https://www.koat.com/article/officials-dangerous-violent-gangs-flocking-to-new-mexico/5063259# CALIFORNIA GANGS IN NEW MEXICO SURENOS 2019 Surenos California gang member in NM LC Sun 2019/07/29   California gang member arrested new mexico human trafficking, By Bethany Freudenthal https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2019/07/29/california-gang-member-arrested-new-mexico-charged- human-trafficking/1783310001/ Excerpt: A member of the Sureños Street Gang from California and his cousin were arrested in New Mexico earlier this month, on suspicion of trying to smuggle people into the country. According to federal court documents, Luis Antonio Chavez, 33, and Emmanuel Pizano, 31, were arrested July 17 in Lordsburg and each are charged with one felony count of smuggling illegal aliens.  Chavez and Pizano allegedly told Border Patrol agents they had met a group of Mexican nationals at a gas station who asked for a ride. The Mexican nationals who talked to agents, however, said Chavez and Pizano were part of a scheme to smuggle them into the United States.During the interview with agents, Chavez informed them he was a member of the Sureños Street Gang from California. https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2019/07/29/california-gang-member-arrested-new-mexico-charged- human-trafficking/1783310001/ INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTARY Introduction Start here - excerpts below: http://www.masq.org/index.php/Albuquerque,_the_Hidden_Cultures http //projects dot aljazeera.com/2015/01/native-gangs/* *note on Al Jazeera here in Notes 2019/09/04 Please also see: US Border Patrol dot com (a private website, not an official government website - they indicate the following: This site is maintained by supporters of the United States Border Patrol and is not an official government site. The contents of this site are privately managed and not subject to the direction of the United States Border Patrol.  http://www.usborderpatrol.com/Border_Patrol746.htm Excerpt:  New Mexico The U.S. state of New Mexico is under attack by drug cartels and smugglers and little can be done to stop the border violence without federal troops. This state's 180 mile border with Mexico is nearly devoid of human habitation. Isolated ranches and small farms dot the border area. Because the population is so small (less than two million in a state of 50,000 square miles) , little federal funding is available to build adequate border infrastructure. Because New Mexico occupies such a strategic east - west position it has been favored with an extensive Interstate Highway System. The combination of fast roads and no people bodes catastrophe for the residents of this state. The drug cartels have taken over. Don't think that even the federal government will help. Even when smugglers and drug gangs are arrested, the embarrassingly under- funded federal prosecutors have to prioritize cases and that means some very bad people go free for lack of prosecutors to handle the cases. New Mexico has the fourth highest federal case load in the United States yet has but one city worth the name : Albuquerque. This isolated town is home to one of the largest nuclear weapons facilities in the world. What it would take for the al Qaeda and Mexican criminals now operating in New Mexico's border areas to repeat the attack of 1916 but against a nuclear weapons facility is unknown but a nightmare worth Hollywood's attention. http://www.usborderpatrol.com/Border_Patrol746.htm And also see the Border section on this website. The following website masq dot org seems to be possibly dated and local.  There have been some improvements to Albuquerque.  However, by focusing on Albuquerque’s Warzone, Biker gangs, other gangs, drugs and dealers, etc. it takes us into a space that is reflective of the entire state, not just Albuquerque.  Although gangs come in from other areas, bringing their culture and tendencies with them, New Mexico still has a unique aspect.  This website is one of the better ones to help newcomers and oldtimers alike get in sync with what is actually going on in this particular state. Masq dot org Masquerade: Albuquerque the Hidden Cultures http://www.masq.org/index.php/Albuquerque,_the_Hidden_Cultures Excerpt: Between the parks, the Pueblo Revival architecture and the significant artistic pursuits, Albuquerque has a lot to offer.  So it can come to a surprise to many than beneath the surface lurks a hidden depth to the city. The Southeast Heights, a fairly large portion of the city, is ruled by gangs and criminals. Police fear to go into the neighbourhood as just stepping past the border of San Mateo Boulevard is enough to take their lives into their hands. But how did this area of the city, known as the Warzone, come to be? One reporter decided to find out, and write about her discoveries in the underbelly of Albuquerque. Gangs may consist of a few individuals with little organization who commit minor crimes to highly organized groups with numerous members involved in sophisticated transnational crimes and criminal enterprise. Gangs form for many different reasons - including profit through criminal activity, territorial claims, protection, culture or community history. Gangs that commit most quality of life crimes that affect communities and neighborhoods are criminal street gangs. In New Mexico, a criminal street gang is defined as three or more persons having a common identifying sign or symbol, or an identifiable leadership who continuously or regularly associate in the commission of criminal activities.[3] According to the Albuquerque Police Department, our city has 7,800 “ranked in” members of some 200 criminal street gangs. That doesn’t include taggers, pee wees and wannabees. It’s the number of criminals who have satisfied minimum entrance requirements for street gang membership. …Once a gang shifts away from turf orientation and petty crimes ("First Generation Gang") and begins organizing illegal activities with a money making focus, they become what is characterized as a "Second Generation Gang". Second generation gang activities tend to be drug-centric, operate in broader areas and have a centralized leadership. Most urban gangs fit into the first and second generation characterizations. Organized crime is defined by the FBI as any group having a formalized structure whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities. Gangs perpetuate control of enterprises and illegal activities through threatened and actual violence, graft, and extortion. Turf wars and gang pride are still important however, the focus becomes more about the money.http://www.masq.org/index.php/Albuquerque,_the_Hidden_Cultures Aljazeera dot com (2015/01/19) A Cross to Bear: James Cross Knows Why Native American Kids Joing Gangs.  By Tristan Ahtone. This is the first story in a five-part series on Native American gangs. http //projects dot aljazeera.com/2015/01/native-gangs/ Excerpt:  “I got forks on the back, which represents the Disciples,” said Cross, referring to a tattoo of two hands making the sign of the Latin Gangster Disciples. “Then I’ve got tattoos on my face. I had a teardrop, but we covered it up with a feather just so everybody wouldn’t be intimidated and I could get a job. Everybody knows a teardrop is for murder.” When they were around the age of 7, he and his twin brother first hooked up with the Latin Gangster Disciples. One day, he said, they were hanging around with the older guys and someone said, “Hey, go get that cash register,’’ referring to a nearby convenience store. “We went and got that cash register,’’ Cross said. “There was an old man working there, couldn’t do nothing, couldn’t hardly move, so it was an easy hit.’’ Not that easy. They got caught and he began a long string of encounters with the law. Now 48, he has spent almost half his life in prison. That time has taken a very serious toll on his life. http //projects dot aljazeera.com/2015/01/native-gangs/ Commentary Stereotyping We need to address cultural issues in such a way that it helps us to overcome the racial and religious divides that split us in New Mexico and beyond.  Gang and cartel behavior often start from within the groups themselves, with multi-generational tendencies spanning decades.  There are things inside group membership which keep members doing the same old thing for a long time.  Some of this has to do with hidden abuses that, because of group culture, do receive proper outside intervention.  However, there are also stresses and strains from outside the group which can make things worse.  Part of this is the sense of feeling separate from the rest of the country, often because of racial or religious differences.  So being part of a gang can also be about skin color and can be mixed in with religion or not. To accomplish getting people to work together across the gang world divide will require people from different groups to find new footing together.  This means coming up with new ways of talking and looking at things.  We need to start by understanding coded language and stereotypes. Codes Coded language is a big one, because people inside the group might not realize their language is coded.  They think it’s other people’s language that sounds so funny.  On the other hand, the group might deliberately talk a certain way to keep things among the family, so to speak.  They use certain for words for things.  They use certain hand signals, maybe nuanced gestures.  It can be about colors of clothing, tattoos, icons, dragging baggy pants, wearing certain kinds of crosses and much more.  But language can also be about cussing, saying certain things and not other things, getting whopped for tripping over wrong subjects, and that sort of thing.  Language can be bad but seen as good, and the other way around.  Being too good might seem bad.  Sweet talk might sound like something else.  You have to hear it right, say it right, or you don’t fit in.  Being cool means different things to different people.  Language is actually a big deal, but not all communication is about the spoken word.  Being able to bring a gang’s way of communicating to the forefront of your awareness might be the first step to pulling out.  If you can understand what you do and why, where it came from, and how it fits into group dynamics, you start calling in your own destiny.  You are no longer just a player or follower, or a misguided leader.  You become more the master of your own life when you realize you have choices and that life doesn’t have to just be one way. Codes are actually a big deal and to deal with gangs, so we have to talk about them.  But let’s go onto the next thing, stereotypes. Stereotypes To address stereotypes, we need to understand there also can be stereotypes about stereotypes.  That can sound a little strange, but what that means is this:  people can feel they are being stereotyped, which means they feel they are not seen or heard.  It can mean they feel others are suggesting that they are less important.  It can mean feeling downtrodden or otherwise downcast.   Stereotyped situations go further than that.  It is about how people might feel they are not getting their due from history because in another world, another time, they could have won or kept things intact.  Also it could have meant their ways were the ways.   In modern times, because of lost prestige, not feeling honored or valued, it might also be people don’t hear them about what their culture and gender feels is important.  Sometimes it is about manhood, according to the culture, the other culture does have not the right approach to honoring the man.  Some people want to call it machismo, but there is another way to look at it, it’s about being the man and having that respect.  So according to this view, stereotyping makes these issues go upside down, kind of ridiculing the man who wants to be the man.  It’s a cultural issue which can put a slur on the whole male gender; in this way, a man can feel stereotyped for believing what he believes, for feeling what he feels.  He might want to express there is more to it than that stereotype.  Some of the feelings can be: I have brown skin.  I get lumped in with other brown skinned people.  I feel categorized and lumped in with everyone else. I am Hispanic and have a half-white brother.  When we go to a store, the clerks look at him and give him special attention.  They are nicer to him, but they treat me like crud, if they even notice me at all.”  (this was taken from a blog section and slightly modified here). People think all Hispanics are members of gangs or part of the anti-American agendas like the ones which cling to old Mexico history. I am a Hispanic male and don’t do the machismo thing but try to treat women fairly. I am black.  But I am more of a white-black than a black-black.  That is, I am fully black, but I talk easier with white folks sometimes than blacks, or otherwise I get along with everyone.  I get in trouble for this with other black people, who think I am high-minded or have an attitude, or whatever. I am black.  I see blacks in Chicago beating up on the general citizens, killing girls and stuff like that, just taking a gun and shooting without compunction in public areas.  I get profiled by the police if I am wearing a backpack or whatever.  I don’t want any part of that gang nonsense.  I want to go places where it’s safer from other blacks who are thugs. So these comments - and many more - can indicate the deep feelings of frustration, anger and sometimes the giving up that happens among certain racial groups in the USA who feel unfairly stereotyped.  But, agreeing to the above concerns about stereotyping where applicable, there is another side to all of this.  Sometimes people are not stereotyping and so are getting a bad rap for that.  People who feel stereotyped can also themselves misperceive behavior from others, thinking it is about stereotyping.  That is, sometimes it is not about stereotyping, but about misunderstanding and miscommunication.  You might think someone is profiling you or stereotyping you, when in fact, something else is going on. How to know the difference is part of the key. Part of the issue can be an insistence that non-discriminatory behavior must look and feel a certain way.  There also might be a desire to inundate a dominant group with punishments so that group fully knows what the underlings in history felt like, so that it is no longer an act.  That is, the dominant group might be perceived as people with an attitude until they finally are whipped into submission and “get it”  by knowing from the inside out what it meant to be on the wrong side of history for awhile.  This can include making the new dominant group feel like kings and queens.  Making the other guy or gal feel it can take on a lot more than words. Gang related antics, then, can also be about getting even, standing up for one’s race, culture and/or religion, showing who is boss, and an overall power orientation.  Showing power can have violent ramifications, but it also can be about mind over matter in certain ways.  That is, a game of pre-calculation.  There also can be people playing around with the paranormal or bioenergy.  Some notions might have been spoonfed to you since childhood.  There are no easy answers; women need to stand their ground and realize that. TOPICS AND GROUPS RELATED TO GANGS NEW MEXICO New Mexico Gang Task Force - NMGTF Facebook listing for task force https://www.facebook.com/nmgangtaskforce/ NM Gang Conference 2020 The New Mexico Gang Conference, organized and presented by the New Mexico Gang Task Force (NMGTF) is the largest organized task force in the state dealing with gangs as a multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency entity. https://nmgangconference.com/ Biker Trash Network (2018/03/12) New Mexico’s mysterious Gang Task Force invites ex-Sheriff to speak. https://www.bikertrashnetwork.com/2018/03/new-mexicos-mysterious-gang-task-force.html See also: Albuquerque CABQ dot gov:  Gang Member registration Note: it seems this was started in 2008 but it does not appear to have  taken hold as late as 09/01/2019; it is included here as information only because it was likely a good idea; did the site migrate elsewhere? This measure will give law enforcement the tools they need to fight the scourge of gang violence by defining criminal gang membership and prohibiting it in the City of Albuquerque. The strategy also requires the Albuquerque Police Department maintain a registry of convicted known gang members and make that registry accessible on this website.  The City of Albuquerque's decision to post gang members on this website is based on the fact that the gang member was convicted under the Anti-Gang Ordinance. https://www.cabq.gov/police/online-services/gang-member-registration Farmington Farmington Gang Unit Farmington Police Department Gang Unit.  The Farmington Police Department Gang Unit is a specialized unit of officers that is assigned to investigate organized crimes committed by known gang members and associates. Farmington officers work side by side with Homeland Security, the Office of the United States Attorney-District of New Mexico, and the Region II Narcotics Task Force. http://www.fmtn.org/523/Gang-Unit Southern New Mexico Article linked to Southern NM - Las Cruces: Justice dot gov: (2019/08/22)Felon from Las Cruces Charged with Violating Federal Firearms Laws https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/felon-las-cruces-charged-violating-federal-firearms-laws FBI FBI dot gov Violent Gang Task Forces https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/gangs/violent-gang-task-forces Excerpt:  The Violent Gang Safe Streets Task Force is the vehicle through which all of the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies collaboratively address the violent crime plaguing communities. The FBI’s Safe Streets and Gang Unit administers 160 Violent Gang Safe Streets Task Forces nationwide. These task forces pursue violent gangs through sustained, proactive, coordinated investigations to obtain prosecutions on violations such as racketeering, drug conspiracy, and firearms violations. The Safe Streets Task Force concept expands cooperation and communication among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, increasing productivity and avoiding duplication of investigative efforts. One of the key facets of a Safe Streets Task Force is the Enterprise Theory of Investigation (ETI). Combining short term, street level enforcement activity with such sophisticated techniques as consensual monitoring, financial analysis, and Title III wire intercepts investigations using ETI aim to root out and prosecute the entire gang. The ETI has proven how effective federal racketeering, drug conspiracy, and firearms investigations can be, whether it is providing the incentive for witnesses to cooperate or imprisoning the gang’s leaders for decades. The following lists the Violent Gang Safe Streets Task Forces by state nationwide: (go to website to see the list of states on it) https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/gangs/violent-gang-task-forces KRQE 2019/09/19   Feds target New Mexico prison gang after years-long investigation.  By Brittany Bade. https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/feds-target-new-mexico-prison-gang-after-years-long-investigation/ SNM Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico Justice dot gov 2015/12/04 Federal indictments charge 25 alleged members syndicato de nuevo mexico https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/federal-indictments-charge-25-alleged-members-syndicato-de-nuevo-mexico- snm-prison-gang Excerpt:   The racketeering indictments, which were filed on Dec. 1, 2015, and were unsealed yesterday, allege that the defendants conspired to violate federal racketeering laws by conspiring to commit violent crimes, including murder, attempted murder and assault, in aid of their racketeering enterprise.  The indictments are the result of a multi-agency investigation led by the Albuquerque Division of the FBI that culminated yesterday with a law enforcement operation during which all but two of the defendants charged were arrested.Department. “These arrests help us in our mission is to provide safer prisons for those in our care.” The two racketeering indictments allege that the 25 defendants charged were members and associates of the SNM Prison Gang, a state-wide gang operating in New Mexico prisons and in communities throughout the state.  According to the racketeering indictments, the SNM Prison Gang was formed in the early 1980s at the Penitentiary of New Mexico after the prison riot in Feb. 1980, and expanded throughout the New Mexico penal system.  Gang members and associates allegedly are expected to remain loyal to the Gang and work to further its objectives after they have completed their prison sentences and those who do not are allegedly subject to violent forms of discipline.  The racketeering indictments allege that significant goals of the SNM Prison Gang include controlling and profiting from drug trafficking both within and outside the penal system; intimidating and influencing other gangs for the purpose of expanding the network for its illegal activities; and engaging in violence to assert its gang identity and protect its territory. The first of the racketeering indictments charges 24 alleged SNM Prison Gang members and associates with committing four murders, conspiring to commit three murders and conspiring to commit a violent assault for the purpose of gaining entrance to and maintaining and increasing their positons within the SNM Prison Gang, an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity.  The indictment includes Notices of Special Findings against the 12 defendants alleged to have committed murder in aid of the Gang’s racketeering affairs.  The decision whether or not to seek the death penalty will be made by the Attorney General of the United States based on the recommendations of the U.S. Attorney and after carefully considering each defendant’s background and the circumstances of his crimes. The second racketeering indictment charges four alleged SNM Prison Gang members and associates, including three charged in the first racketeering indictment, wi https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/federal-indictments-charge-25-alleged-members-syndicato-de-nuevo-mexico- snm-prison-gang https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2019/05/11/albuquerque-nm-syndicato-de-nuevo-mexico- gang-members-sentenced-federal-prison/1177606001/ National Gang Center dot gov New Mexico, first page, 217 articles total were available when Accessed on 2019/08/31: https://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Gang-Related-News?st=NM 'Arizona Boys' drug gang members convicted in 2011 Otero County slaying (Alamogordo, NM):Two members of a notorious drug-dealing gang known as the 'Arizona Boys' have been convicted in a 2011 New Mexico murder case, prosecutors announced late Monday afternoon. Source: KVIA ABC 7 News   Date: August 26, 2019   https://www.kvia.com/... Anti-gang tactic sweeps up wrong man (Albuquerque, NM):When 15 young people were indicted on a swath of racketeering and other charges in spring 2017, District Attorney Raúl Torrez held a news conference calling the defendants “members of one of Albuquerque’s more notorious street gangs.” Source: Albuquerque Journal   Date: August 17, 2019   https://www.abqjournal.com/... California gang member arrested near Lordsburg, New Mexico, charged with human trafficking (Lordsburg, NM):A member of the Sureños Street Gang from California and his cousin were arrested in New Mexico earlier this month, on suspicion of trying to smuggle people into the country. Source: Las Cruces Sun-News   Date: July 29, 2019   https://www.lcsun-news.com/... Witness against violent New Mexico prison gang gunned down outside home (Albuquerque, NM):A former member of a violent New Mexico prison gang who testified against some of its members last year was shot and killed outside his home earlier this week, authorities said. Source: OzarksFirst.com   Date: July 27, 2019   https://www.ozarksfirst.com/... Gangs driving much of the drug and gun violence crime in city, APD says (Albuquerque, NM):A student found at school with a loaded laser-mounted pistol and high-capacity magazines in his backpack. A family that allegedly pistol-whipped and robbed two others. Source: Albuquerque Journal   Date: May 29, 2019   https://www.abqjournal.com/... Bernalillo Co. District Attorney to ramp up data program to fight gun violence (Albuquerque, NM):The first several months of 2019 have been violent: 114 people were shot in Bernalillo County in 112 days and 17 people were killed by gun violence in the same time frame. Source: KOB Eyewitness News 4   Date: April 29, 2019   https://www.kob.com/... Felon in violent crime spree in Taos gets ‘second chance’ (Taos, NM):A Ranchos de Taos man who pleaded guilty in January to stabbing a man while attempting to steal his vehicle outside Smith’s grocery store in Taos was sentenced to five years probation on Monday (April 8), time that he will spend at one of the state’s top long-term drug treatment facilities, instead of in prison. Source: The Taos News   Date: April 15, 2019   https://www.taosnews.com/... Teen violence on the rise (Albuquerque, NM):Mayor Tim Keller admits that there is a problem with gun violence in Albuquerque. Many cases involve teenagers. Ahmed Lateef, Collin Romero, and Evyn Scott were teenagers when they were brutally murdered. Source: KOB Eyewitness News 4   Date: April 8, 2019   https://www.kob.com/... Last suspect indicted in prison gang plot arrested (Albquerque, NM):Angel Deleon, 41, was the last suspect still on the loose after being charged in 2015 for his involvement in the notorious prison gang, Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico. Source: Albuquerque Journal   Date: March 4, 2019   https://www.abqjournal.com/... Deputies tracked down, arrested multiple criminals throughout Albuquerque (Albuquerque, NM):If you saw Bernalillo County deputies in your neighborhood Thursday, they were tracking down wanted criminals and gang members. Deputies saturated southeast Albuquerque neighborhoods. They arrested eight people on felonies and three for misdemeanors. Source: KRQE News 13   Date: March 1, 2019   https://www.krqe.com/... The AZ Boys: A legacy of meth and murder in Alamogordo (Alamogordo, NM):The AZ Boys blew into Alamogordo from Arizona more than a decade ago, wreaking havoc and violence with their meth-dealing operation. Among the crimes that put key members behind bars: murder, drug trafficking, money laundering, arson and attempted bribery of a cop. Source: Alamogordo Daily News   Date: February 4, 2019   https://www.alamogordonews.com/... APD blames string of shootings on gang rivalry (Albuquerque, NM):Three members of an Albuquerque gang — a man and two teenage boys — lured alleged rivals into drug deals before gunning them down, taking one man’s life and irrevocably changing three others, police say. Source: Albuquerque Journal   Date: November 21, 2018   https://www.abqjournal.com/... City Officials Clutch Pearls over Perceived Gang Violence (Española, NM):Española officials are pointing to the killing of Cameron Martinez as one of the main reasons they have agreed to allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation to deputize one of their police officers, which would open the door for city police to file federal gang indictments. Source: Rio Grande Sun   Date: November 17, 2018   http://www.riograndesun.com/... Santa Fe police say gang presence being driven by social media (Santa Fe, NM):Drugs, cash and guns. Santa Fe Police Department Criminal Intelligence Officer Christopher Abbo, said police are seeing more of each on social media lately, posted by local youth “emulating criminal behavior that has been traditionally associated with ‘street gangs.’” Source: The Santa Fe New Mexican   Date: November 1, 2018   http://www.santafenewmexican.com/... Fabian Gonzales' tattoo could solve gang-tie debate (Albuquerque, NM):Whether Fabian Gonzales was in a gang that led to the horrible killing of 10-year-old Victoria Martens has been debated by prosecutors, defense attorneys, detectives and his brother. Source: KOAT 7 News    Date: October 15, 2018   https://www.koat.com/... Defense on suspect's gang affiliation: 'They were into tagging not murder' (Albuquerque, NM):Was Fabian Gonzales in a violent street gang, or one with a similar name that was into graffiti, but not murder? Prosecutors maintain the death of Victoria Martens was gang retaliation for threats Gonzales made to rival gang members in the days before Victoria's death. Source: KOAT 7 News    Date: October 4, 2018   https://www.koat.com/... Gang ties doubted in Martens case (Albuquerque, NM):While the core of the state’s case against Fabian Gonzales rests on his ties to a local street gang and retaliation for threats prosecutors say he made toward rival gang members, Gonzales’ defense attorney has filed motions recently that cast doubt on that narrative. Source: Albuquerque Journal   Date: October 2, 2018   https://www.abqjournal.com/... Fabian Gonzales had ties to notorious Albuquerque gang (Albuquerque, NM):Prosecutors are claiming that one of the suspects accused in the brutal death of 10-year-old Victoria Martens was tied to a gang that at one point, retired detectives say, was one of the most violent in Albuquerque. Source: KOAT 7 News    Date: October 1, 2018