Members Of The Barrio Azteca Prison Gang Are Up And Quitting

Various members of the Barrio Azteca prison gang have quit following a series of police investigations into their activities. The high-ranking members who left seem to feel that they had snitches, who may or may not eventually procure stitches, in the midst. The gang has taken a hit from these informants and subsequent defectors as suspicions have taken hold among its members and federal agents have taken to tapping phone calls intercepting coded messages sent among members.

Barrio Azteca was established in 1986 within the U.S. prison system, eventually recruiting Mexican immigrant members on the outside and within Mexican prisons. The gang has described itself as “owning” the city of El Paso, Texas. Although you just wait until El Paso gets an HEB. You just wait.

The group has a military-influenced ranking of positions, including a President, Vice-President, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant and Warrior. Some members sport a tattoo of an Aztec Indian head with one feather indicating lieutenant and one with two feathers indicating the rank of captain.

In January of last year, five of the gang’s leaders were arrested in a sting operation set up after a four year federal investigation into the gang’s illegal activities near the border. 

The tension among the gang was the subject of The History Channel’s “Gangland” episode that aired last night and will continue to show through the weekend.

Azteca gang in disarray, officials say [El Paso Times]