Source: Insideprison.com

One of the first prison gangs to develop in the United States, the Mexican Mafia began in 1957 in California. In 1993, San Antonio FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Jeff Jamar called El Eme, often now the name given to the gang on the street, "the most dominant of the prison-spawned gangs operating in Texas," when comparing it to the 10 other large-scale gangs active in US prisons at the time. In 1992, membership within prison was hovering at 700, while in 1998 it was just under 1,500. Today it continues to rise. Outside of prison, La EME is still an ominous presence, responsible for 10% of San Antonio''s total homicide rate, and an estimated 30,000 total members across the United States.

While California and Texas prisons house high numbers of both the California branch and Texas branch of the Mexican Mafia, the two states' respective prison gangs are not officially linked. While they both operate by the same broad title, the Texas branch identifies itself as "Mexikanemi," (Soldiers of Aztlan), or La EMI, while the California branch identifies itself as La EME. In addition, southern California's branch of the Mexican Mafia calls itself the Surenos (or Sur-13), as opposed to the Nuestra Familia's subdivision in northern California, the Nortenos.

The Texas chapter of the Mexican Mafia was founded in a Huntsville prison in 1984 by Heriberto "Herbie" Huerta. Huerta was serving three life terms for murder conspiracy and racketeering when he was given permission by the California chapter to establish his own branch in Texas. Huerta also wrote the constitution that is followed by members to this day, and continues to collect and manage revenue generated by criminal activities. Huerta's prison bank account held $8,000 in 2002, the result of a 10% tax called the "dime" that is collected by drug earnings made on Mexican Mafia turf on the outside. Objectives

As a previous spiritual leader of the Mexikanemi Science Temple of Aztlan, Huerta followed a pre-Hispanic creed that related his desire to establish a legitimate network built on "character," and an emphasis of love over hate. However, the actual objective of the Mexican Mafia is to earn money through criminal operations. The Mexican Mafia's Constitution, which outlines all aspects of criminal organization and enterprising, was recently described in the San Antonio Express- News, citing a prosecution's address to the jury during a 2005 trial:

"the Mexican Mafia is a 'criminal organization' that works 'in any criminal aspect or interest for the benefit and advancement of Mexikanemi. We shall deal in drugs, contract killings, prostitution, large-scale robbery, gambling, weapons and everything imaginable."

It goes on to declare that the only punishment approved by the organization is death. Location

The Mexican Mafia's headquarters are located in San Antonio, but its members reach across several jurisdictions, including California, Arizona, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Houston, Dallas, and Midwestern and southern Texas. Structure and Organization

According to law enforcement, the Mexican Mafia follows a strict hierarchy and a rigid set of "by- laws." The organization has a written constitution outlining all aspects of its criminal organization and enterprising. As covered in the San Antonio Express-News, citing a 2005 trial, the Mexican Mafia "shall deal in drugs, contract killings, prostitution, large-scale robbery, gambling, weapons and everything imaginable." The constitution also stipulates, as most prison gangs do today, that gang members released from prison become "free world soldiers" required to serve the gang's economic interest by dealing in drugs, racketeering, and prostitution on the outside . These recent parolees, generally termed "wolfpacks" by both the Mexican Mafia and the Nuestra Familia , carry messages to gang leaders on the outside.

According to Robert Fong (1990), the Mafia's Constitution outlines 12 principal rules.

1. Membership is for life, meaning "blood in, blood out." 2. Every member must be prepared to sacrifice his life or take another's life at any time when required 3. Every member shall strive to overcome his weakness to achieve discipline within the MEXIKANEMI brotherhood 4. Never let the MEXIKANEMI down 5. The sponsoring member is totally responsible for the behavior of the new recruit. If the new recruit turns out to be a traitor, it is the sponsoring member's responsibility to eliminate the recruit 6. When disrespected by a stranger or a group, all members of the MEXIKANEMI will unite to destroy the person or the other group completely 7. Always maintain a high level of integrity 8. Never release the MEXIKANEMI business to others 9. Every member has the right to express opinions, ideas, contradictions and constructive criticisms 10. Every member has the right to organize, educate, arm, and defend the MEXIKANEMI 11. Every member has the right to wear the tattoo of the MEXIKANEMI symbol 12. The MEXIKANEMI is a criminal organization and therefore will participate in all aspects of criminal interest for monetary benefits (Constitution of the Mexican Mafia of Texas).

The Mexican Mafia operate on a paramilitary structure, complete with a president, vice president, and numerous generals, captains, lieutenants and sergeants. Below these high-ranking members are soldiers, also known as "carnales," as well as suppliers and associates, all of whose activities are overseen by the generals. Only one general operates in the federal prison system, while another one operates in the state prison system. The state general appoints a committee of lieutenants and captains who command prison units across the entire state.

With the exception of sergeants, all positions of MM members are elected on leadership and negotiative capabilities. All members cast 1 vote each in order to enact proposals into decisions, and all decisions must meet unanimous approval. Contract killings of fellow Mexican Mafia members require volunteers. If no members volunteer, names are drawn. For killings requiring one executioner, any member who draws the number 1 will be designated as the killer; and for killings requiring more than one, members who draw 2, 3, and so on will also be assigned killing duties. In reality, however, many contract killings are implemented without unanimous support, usually by unit lieutenants abusing their power.

In contrast to the Texas Syndicate, the Mexican Mafia have no safeguards to constrain intra-gang conflict. While the Texas Syndicate avoids conflict within its ranks by reverting even high-ranking Mafia members automatically back to the status of solider once these members get reassigned to a different prison unit, the Mexican Mafia preserves rank in all situations.

Member recruitment is loosely based on the "homeboy connection," an informal, long-standing relationship between the recruit and an active gang member. After this connection is established and made known, a "background check" is performed by unit chairmen, who look into the prospective member's history to ensure he has no prior law enforcement or informant connections. If he passes this test, a unanimous vote will determine his acceptance into the organization. If he does not pass this test, he is often forced to pay protection fees, or is coerced into prostitution within the prison. In some cases, acceptance into the Mexican Mafia only comes after members have been rejected first by the Texas Syndicate. In this context, the Texas Syndicate's level of recruitment-selectivity will thus indirectly determine the number of new recruits entering La EME.

Mafia Members must also pass "loyalty tests," such as committing theft, fraud, "approved," or murder. When rules are violated, retaliation is swift and certain. After the 1997 botched robbery of a West French Place residence, two of the participating gang members were found dead by police shortly after. Robert de los Santos, who was found dumped on the side of a road in Bexar County, had been choked, stabbed, and run over by a car, while Adam Tenorio was found stabbed to death a week later. As the Mafia's constitution states: "Any member of Mexikanemi, no matter if he be president, vice president, general, captain, lieutenant, sergeant or soldier, who violates the rules of Mexikanemi must pay and suffer the consequences." In addition to the reasons given for the contract killings of Santos and Tenorio, four general principles in the organization's constitution also exist as guidelines for retaliation: members cannot:

1. be informants 2. be homosexual 3. be cowards or 4. show disrespect against fellow members.

Violation of these rules will result in disciplinary action.

The murder contract is known among members as "bringing down the light," and while it was once a requirement for serious violations only, it is now used superfluously with even minor infractions, such as disputes over $80 dope deals. Murders between members must be first approved in a vote by 3 members, but murders between a member and a nonmember require no prior rubber-stamp.

The Mexican Mafia's "trademark" contract-murder known among law enforcement officials consists of kidnapping, gagging, and binding the informant or violator with duct-tape before putting several bullets into the back of the head. The body is usually wrapped in a blanket and tossed into a remote rural section of the county. Such ritual was reported in 1997, when gang members, during a botched robbery attempt on West French Place, blindfolded and duct-taped 5 people and shot them multiple times in the back of the head.

As of 1998, heroin supplied the organization with most of its drug profits as well as personal use for its members. Drug-trafficking, which makes up the bulk of the organizations total earnings, is usually secured through correctional-staff channels into and out of prison. Guards willing to supply the gang drugs within the prison are given a 40% cut of the profit. Only resignation from the Department of Corrections is sufficient to terminate the guard's relationship with the Mexican Mafia.

In 1993 the Mexican Mafia signed a nonaggression pact with its historic prison-gang rivals, the Texas Syndicate. This was an important event in the development of these two prison gangs. In 1985, for example, the Texas Syndicate declared war on the Mexican Mafia and murdered four of its prison members. The Texas Department of Corrections responded by immediately placing both groups of members in separated confinement, with assaultive members housed in security detention group A and non-assaultive members in security detention group B. After such administrative segregation became an accepted means of quelling gang-related prison disturbances, segregation populations almost doubled in under 2 years. In any event, the 1993 truce suggested the beginning of a more powerful prison gang, and a larger challenge for law enforcement. Leaders

In 1993 FBI agents arrested Heriberto "Herbie" Huerta in his cell at USP Leavenworth , where he was just finishing a 22 year sentence for cocaine possession. Huerta, who is believed to be president for the prison gang, despite his terminal sentence in a Colorado prison, was charged that year directing criminal operations from within his prison cell.

As of 2003, Carlos Rodriguez was the most recent vice president, but in June he was shot to death by two men with AK-47 assault rifles while he was idling in his Corvette on San Antonio's West Side. Before Rodriguez was vice-president Doroteo "Teo" Torres Rangel, who was assassinated in his West Side garage following reports that he had fallen "out of favour" with Huerta. Although now deceased, Jose Vega "Chepo" Hernandez was a major player in the Mexican Mafia, as well.

Gang general Robert "Beaver" Perez is now on death row for separate murders, including the botched robbery attempt in 1997 that left 5 people dead. He was also considered to be a powerful leader of the organization. Communication and Symbols

The Mexican Mafia's primary symbol, which members display in tattooed insignias, is the national symbol of Mexico, an eagle and a snake, on a flaming circle, lying on crossed knives. In prison, Mexican Mafia members communicate by conducting meetings in the prison yard, sending messages out of prison through visitors or parolees, and using small notes called "kites." Sometimes, unique alphabets are used, or periods are aligned with letters and combined to come up with a phrase or sentence, often times a contract hit identifying someone's name.

Communication within units is usually achieved verbally. Communication between units is achieved through visitations, prison transportation and prison bus, and US mail, the latter of which usually employing hidden codes and secret patterns within letters or words. For instance, some correspondences will employ a letter-numbering system, where "a" might equal 5, b=4, c=8, d=2, e=6, and so on. Numbers interspersed throughout the message will then be matched with their corresponding letter, until a phrase is spelled out, such as "hit Major Thompson."