24/7 Wall St. Insights
- The majority of gang members apprehended at the Southern Border belong to a handful of gangs.
- Most gangs do not participate in cross-border operations.
There is no shortage of news stories and fear-mongering when it comes to the southern border of the United States. But is the problem as bad as some politicians make it sound? How many gangs and cartels are currently operating through the border, and how many gang members do we catch every year?
For this list, we used data published by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It includes the number of people apprehended crossing the border illegally for each year, and which gang they belong to.
#1 Partido Revolucionario Mexicano (PRM)
- Apprehensions in 2017: 0
- Apprehensions in 2018: 0
- Apprehensions in 2019: 1
- Apprehensions in 2020: 0
- Apprehensions in 2021: 1
- Apprehensions in 2022: 0
- Apprehensions in 2023: 1
- Apprehensions in 2024: 0
The PRM is a Texas-based prison gang organized by Mexican nationals who had committed crimes in Texas and then were deported afterward. Members often re-enter the United States and encourage U.S. citizens to become members to strengthen their presence in Texas.
#2 Pacific Street Gang
- Apprehensions in 2017: 0
- Apprehensions in 2018: 0
- Apprehensions in 2019: 0
- Apprehensions in 2020: 0
- Apprehensions in 2021: 1
- Apprehensions in 2022: 1
- Apprehensions in 2023: 0
- Apprehensions in 2024: 0
The Pacific Street Gang 13 is a minor Hispanic gang primarily active in Orange County, California, and in and around Anaheim.
#3 Maravilla Salva Trucha
- Apprehensions in 2017: 0
- Apprehensions in 2018: 2
- Apprehensions in 2019: 0
- Apprehensions in 2020: 1
- Apprehensions in 2021: 0
- Apprehensions in 2022: 0
- Apprehensions in 2023: 1
- Apprehensions in 2024: 0
Mara Salvatrucha is the original name of the infamous gang MS-13, so it is unclear why it is listed on the federal website under a slightly different name. It might be a very minor offshoot, or possibly a problem with translation between the detainees and officers.
#4 Florencia 13
- Apprehensions in 2023: 1
- Apprehensions in 2024: 1
Florencia 13 is based in Los Angeles, California, and named after the Florence section of the city under control by the Mexican Mafia. Its members are mostly Mexican Americans and are involved in drug smuggling, robbery, murder, and assaults, primarily against African Americans.
#5 Sureños (Sur-13)
- Apprehensions in 2017: 66
- Apprehensions in 2018: 66
- Apprehensions in 2019: 70
- Apprehensions in 2020: 66
- Apprehensions in 2021: 46
- Apprehensions in 2022: 54
- Apprehensions in 2023: 57
- Apprehensions in 2024: 56
The Sureños is actually a group of gangs that are under the sway of the Mexican Mafia and pay tribute to it. They have rivalries against each other which are put aside when the members are incarcerated in order to keep power in the prison system.
#6 Tren de Aragua
- Apprehensions in 2023: 41
- Apprehensions in 2024: 27
Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan gang that has expanded throughout the Americas. It follows the tradition of previous South American drug cartels that did not use tattoos as a sign of membership.
#7 Tango Blast
- Apprehensions in 2017: 8
- Apprehensions in 2018: 8
- Apprehensions in 2019: 20
- Apprehensions in 2020: 7
- Apprehensions in 2021: 7
- Apprehensions in 2022: 10
- Apprehensions in 2023: 9
- Apprehensions in 2024: 11
Tango Blast or Puro Tango Blast is a loose collection of prison gangs based mostly in large Texas cities. It was formed primarily as a need for unaffiliated inmates or members of smaller gangs to have some kind of defense against larger, more powerful, and more violent gangs. It is unique in that it does not have any strict rules or hierarchy, no formal structure or organization, no membership dues, and no constitution that regulates member behavior. Once members leave the prison system, there are no requirements for them to do anything or act a certain way.
#8 Norteños
- Apprehensions in 2017: 6
- Apprehensions in 2018: 5
- Apprehensions in 2019: 6
- Apprehensions in 2020: 1
- Apprehensions in 2021: 5
- Apprehensions in 2022: 2
- Apprehensions in 2023: 3
- Apprehensions in 2024: 6
The Norteños is a large group of gangs that pay tribute to the Nuestra crime family while in prison in California or in federal prisons. It consists mostly of Mexican Americans.
#9 Mexican Mafia
- Apprehensions in 2017: 4
- Apprehensions in 2018: 3
- Apprehensions in 2019: 7
- Apprehensions in 2020: 2
- Apprehensions in 2021: 5
- Apprehensions in 2022: 4
- Apprehensions in 2023: 3
- Apprehensions in 2024: 2
The Mexican Mafia, despite its name, is an entirely U.S.-based prison gang and criminal organization. According to police officials, it is the most powerful and deadly of the gangs in California prisons. It controls numerous gangs in Southern California, including MS-13 and its rival the 18th Street Gang.
The U.S. Government says it is “among the most powerful, dangerous, and feared criminal organizations in the world”.
#10 Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos (HPL)
- Apprehensions in 2017: 3
- Apprehensions in 2018: 2
- Apprehensions in 2019: 2
- Apprehensions in 2020: 2
- Apprehensions in 2021: 1
- Apprehensions in 2022: 1
- Apprehensions in 2023: 2
- Apprehensions in 2024: 4
The HPL is a prison gang based in Texas and consists mostly of Mexican-Americans. It is active in every Texas prison and throughout Mexico, being heavily involved in the drug trafficking industry.
#11 Barrio Azteca
- Apprehensions in 2017: 3
- Apprehensions in 2018: 4
- Apprehensions in 2019: 0
- Apprehensions in 2020: 1
- Apprehensions in 2021: 1
- Apprehensions in 2022: 2
- Apprehensions in 2023: 0
- Apprehensions in 2024: 3
Barrio Azteca is another Mexican-American prison gang based in Texas. It has expanded since the 1980s to be one of the most violent gangs in the United States and primarily trades across the U.S.-Mexico border, though most of its violent activities take place in Mexico.
#12 Texas Syndicate
- Apprehensions in 2017: 1
- Apprehensions in 2018: 1
- Apprehensions in 2019: 3
- Apprehensions in 2020: 0
- Apprehensions in 2021: 1
- Apprehensions in 2022: 2
- Apprehensions in 2023: 0
- Apprehensions in 2024: 2
The Texas Syndicate is another prison gang formed by Mexican-Americans in order to fight back against the Aryan Brotherhood and other similar gangs. It fosters strong relationships with Mexican immigration prisoners.
#13 Mara 18
- Apprehensions in 2017: 0
- Apprehensions in 2018: 1
- Apprehensions in 2019: 2
- Apprehensions in 2020: 1
- Apprehensions in 2021: 1
- Apprehensions in 2022: 0
- Apprehensions in 2023: 0
- Apprehensions in 2024: 1
Mara 18 is one of the names of the 18th Street Gang, which is also on this list, so being listed here could mean the members were part of a subsidiary or splinter group.
#14 Border Brothers
- Apprehensions in 2017: 0
- Apprehensions in 2018: 1
- Apprehensions in 2019: 1
- Apprehensions in 2020: 0
- Apprehensions in 2021: 0
- Apprehensions in 2022: 0
- Apprehensions in 2023: 1
- Apprehensions in 2024: 0
The Border Brothers is a Mexican gang founded in Tijuana that spread into California with recruitment among illegal immigrants. Most of its recruitment today takes place within the prison system.
#15 Paisas
- Apprehensions in 2017: 53
- Apprehensions in 2018: 62
- Apprehensions in 2019: 90
- Apprehensions in 2020: 93
- Apprehensions in 2021: 79
- Apprehensions in 2022: 146
- Apprehensions in 2023: 133
- Apprehensions in 2024: 148
The Paisas gang is primarily involved in drug trafficking and operates mainly in the U.S. prison system. It began as a paramilitary organization in Colombia and has since spread throughout South America.
#16 MS-13
- Apprehensions in 2017: 228
- Apprehensions in 2018: 413
- Apprehensions in 2019: 464
- Apprehensions in 2020: 72
- Apprehensions in 2021: 113
- Apprehensions in 2022: 312
- Apprehensions in 2023: 178
- Apprehensions in 2024: 72
MS-13 is among the most recognizable and famous among the gangs that operate along the U.S.-Mexico border due to media sensationalism, fear-mongering on right-wing news channels, and its large number of members.
MS-13 was founded in Los Angeles in order to protect immigrants from El Salvador from other gangs in the area. It has since expanded into a more traditional criminal organization. It has a deep and well-known rivalry with the 18th Street Gang.
#17 Latin Kings
- Apprehensions in 2017: 6
- Apprehensions in 2018: 7
- Apprehensions in 2019: 24
- Apprehensions in 2020: 4
- Apprehensions in 2021: 6
- Apprehensions in 2022: 11
- Apprehensions in 2023: 13
- Apprehensions in 2024: 12
The Latin Kings was founded in Chicago in 1954 and is now one of the largest Hispanic street gangs and prison gangs in the world. It is widely involved in various criminal enterprises and has chapters in almost every state in the country.
#18 18th Street
- Apprehensions in 2017: 61
- Apprehensions in 2018: 145
- Apprehensions in 2019: 168
- Apprehensions in 2020: 36
- Apprehensions in 2021: 28
- Apprehensions in 2022: 110
- Apprehensions in 2023: 65
- Apprehensions in 2024: 31
The 18th Street gang began as a multi-racial street gang in Los Angeles and has grown to be one of the largest criminal organizations in the region and is allied with the Mexican Mafia. Its rivalry with MS-13 has turned the Central American northern triangle area into the “area with the highest homicide rate in the world”.
#19 Other
- Apprehensions in 2017: 90
- Apprehensions in 2018: 82
- Apprehensions in 2019: 110
- Apprehensions in 2020: 75
- Apprehensions in 2021: 53
- Apprehensions in 2022: 94
- Apprehensions in 2023: 128
- Apprehensions in 2024: 141
There are many other gangs that have had members apprehended at the U.S.-Mexican border, and a final “other” group, including members from gangs too small or unknown to include on their own. These are the numbers the Federal Government reported for this group.
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