
Blood Ties
How a Texas Prison Gang Became a Mexican Cartel Proxy
- 200 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
In the late 1980s and 1990s, street gang members from the impoverished Segundo Barrio in El Paso, Texas, united in the Texas prison system to create the Barrio Aztecas gang. They quickly rose to power in the Texas prison system and ultimately became a powerful transnational criminal organization.
Kolb describes the prison dynamic of predator and prey and the need for the prey to unify for protection against gangs such as the Texas Syndicate and Texas Mexican Mafia, also known as the Mexikanemi. The protective cocoon formed by this group soon morphed into a criminal enterprise that would be headquartered in the Coffield Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where the gang would engage in drug sales and violent crimes while behind bars. The skill sets they acquired served members well as they were released from custody and went on to exploit US immigration policies as well as friends and familial ties in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. There they established alliances with regional drug trafficking organizations such as Vicente Carrillo Fuentes (Juarez cartel), to whom they would serve as foot soldiers in the proxy war that would consume Ciudad Juárez and turn it into the “Murder Capital of the World.” Blood Ties describes the Azteca’s organizational structure and ranks, identifying characteristics such as tattoos and code words, and how the organization appropriated Aztec culture to form the basis for their identity. Some of the gang’s most horrific crimes are revealed here, and the author explores how Azteca’s leadership was eroded through the violation of the very tenets that served as the gang’s foundation.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Series Page
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Mi Barrio
- Chapter 2: Coffield
- Chapter 3: Staking Their Claim
- Chapter 4: CERESO Prison
- Chapter 5: Crossing the Line
- Chapter 6: Deadly Marriage
- Chapter 7: War Footing
- Chapter 8: Death of a City
- Chapter 9: Matanza
- Chapter 10: Americans in the Crosshairs
- Chapter 11: Insurgency
- Chapter 12: Transitions
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- References
- Index
- About the Author