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Jorge Gomez's avatar

Most of the so call M Mexican Mafias or NF nuestras Familia La linia and The AB where born in the CYA prision system and in the Obama Goverment most USCa.Nv.Az.Tx All jails emptied and deported to Vez Mex C.A. and south of the border where they spreaded like jackrabbits the powerfull gangs grew up after the contras wars where recruited as freedom fighters and most grew to become criminal enterprises drug dealing in heroin and cocaine empires sending migrants across the border and controlling turf from NY Ph Ch L.A etc the key thing nobody likes to say is this gangs or Cartels are run by former cops or prision guards trough a religious system of Cristiano's and brotherhood of blood relatives used as mules and people's Traffiquers but in the end run by Cops to get informants inside the network this cops create more havock in all nations taking them to extremes to become a socialist militants or guerrillas inside in cahoots with political alies this the solution is simple Cops needs to stop using informants to profits in temporarily apearce to control drugs and gangs you need a better law enforcement that also politicaly augumented intelligence stop this gangs from controlling the wealth of nations and using to rob citizens that produce wealth and have to flee their country because a group of Rites in a clke or political interest gets them harrased by kidnappings and land grabs the solution is simple political wisdom and a Rule of law by capable decent goverment that understands about the common good in charge of goverment

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Ioan Grillo's avatar

Thanks there Jorge. Yeah, it is interesting why it was California that was the birth place of so many gangs as opposed to other U.S. states. What is it about the Golden State that made it such a place to cultivate gangs? All best there friend and great to hear your voice here.

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Tom Johnston's avatar

Location, location and location. With the intersecting groups of corruption between Tijuana and San Diego during the late 1950's and 1960's, that always provided the fertile grounds for every type of criminal activity imaginable and the proliferation of major criminal government corrupt connections and gangs and then cartels.

The Italian Alessio family from San Diego had massive business operations in San Diego and Mexico, especially Tijuana. The Alessio family also had huge political connections extending to Baja state officials extending to Mexico's federal government and major political connections all the way to President Kennedy and President Nixon. The Alessio family provided President Kennedy with a private hideaway in San Ysidro to conduct his personal examinations with whatever woman he brought there. The powerful beauty of Marilyn Monroe linger there for a long while. The Alessio's family connections with the FBI and DEA, I think gave many in law enforcement their first real taste of major money and power. The power of the Alessio family was their undoing. Too much jealousy, fear and ruthless ambition against the Alessio family caused their demise in the early 1970's.

The Alessio family provided the criminal business acumen to many proteges including current gangs and cartels today operating on both sides of the border. The Alessio family has definitely slipped under the radar of current discussion about crime and corruption in Mexico and California.

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Ioan Grillo's avatar

Fascinating. You bring great knowledge to the convo here - and another crime family I need to look more into!

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Tom Johnston's avatar

I had a brain fart. Kennedy's hideaway was in Tecate, Mexico just at the border in the high foothills. You did not expect to see a parade of Lincoln limos going in that area.

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Daniel Helkenn's avatar

It’s easy to see why prison doesn’t bother too many if it’s possible to live like that while in prison. It’s probably better than where a lot of the prisoners come from. Thanks for another great post.

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Ioan Grillo's avatar

Yeah indeed. A lot of these prisons went from bad in the nineties to just gang-controlled crazy. And when the government has this little control over a prison it really shows how security and rule of law is on its head. Best there friend.

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Tom Johnston's avatar

The same thing is happening in the US. The US prison system is massively being outsourced to private companies who have drastically reduced the pay of prison guards. These companies only interest in the prisons is to use them as profitable businesses using basically almost free labor. This is becoming a very corrupt system and a slow boiling point for the same collapse that has happened in Mexico, Central America and South America.

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Ioan Grillo's avatar

That is a very important story to pursue. Best there.

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Mike Hampton's avatar

A peek inside - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH5m3rIWmKs

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Ioan Grillo's avatar

It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic. The animals in the zoo included flamingos, pumas, bulls, goats, albatross, cows, bulls, guacamayas - most of them burned to death when the troops raided the prison...

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Mike Hampton's avatar

Horrendous.

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Daniel Helkenn's avatar

I’ve stayed at hotels that didn’t have pools as nice as that. I’m sure Ukraine would have liked the weapons. Maybe they even had a “coke plant” for Elenskyyy. Bitcoin mining. They must have had some fairly intense power sources.

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Mike Hampton's avatar

I'm a simple guy. I'm just jealous of their 5km tunnel to canoes.

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Ioan Grillo's avatar

Yeah, I didnt get into the Bitcoin mining in the story but that is a very interesting angle. "Party like a Tren de Agua prisoner..."

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Tom Johnston's avatar

America's hatred of Hugo Chavez led to sanctions against the oil industry of Venezuela and that has contributed greatly to the horrible economic conditions in Venezuela. The coup attempt by the Trump administration led to even more economic sanctions and political sanctions. But I think President Maduro has gained the same revenge that Castro gained when he released every Cuban criminal in prisons and sent them to Muriel Bay in 1981. Maduro allowed the complete exodus of political opposition leaders, gangs like El Tren and major criminals from prison practically providing them with a free trip to the border of Columbia. It certainly did help in the alleviating not only of crime but overt political opposition. The United States again was wide open for this maneuver.

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Ioan Grillo's avatar

Yes, I think the comparison with the Mariel boatlift and Maduro following his idol Castro is very accurate.

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Mike Hampton's avatar

We've been warning folks to watch out for neocons and billionaires when crossing the road, and now they have to watch out for gangs too. It's appalling in practice, intriguing at a distance.

Gaggle's a great word. Good to see it used effectively i.e. "gaggle of teenage rockers" .

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Ioan Grillo's avatar

Yep, trillion dollar corporations fleecing us from above, mad gangsters from below. I do indeed enjoy using the word "gaggle" like I also like gems such as "shenanigans" and "splattering."

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Mike Hampton's avatar

...and jabberwocky.

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Ioan Grillo's avatar

"Beware the jabberwocky" - even more blood-curdling than Beowolf

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Mike Hampton's avatar

I found the fun in it last week with 'O frabjous day, callooh callay, as anti-war George Galloway wins UK by-election', and 'The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left Labour and the Tories dead, and with their heads, went galumphing back.' Ok, maybe that was still dark :)

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