Texas Gang Threat Assessment report on El Paso

Texas Gang Threat Assessment report, April 2014, from the Texas Department of Public Safety

Below is the assessment on El Paso.

Region 4 Most Significant Gangs: Barrio Azteca, Sureo 13, and Tango cliques (EPT, WTX)

• (U) Region 4 encompasses west Texas and shares a significant portion of the U.S. border with Mexico. The most significant gang in the region is Barrio Azteca, which arose in the El Paso area and has spread to other regions of the state. Other significant gangs active throughout the region are the California-based Sureo 13 and the Tango cliques known as WTX (West Texas) and EPT (El Paso). The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas and Aryan Circle are also active in the Midland-Odessa and San Angelo areas. Other noteworthy gangs are the Texas Syndicate, Texas Mexican Mafia, Crips (various cliques), Bloods (various cliques), Bandidos, and Latin Kings.

(U) Explaining the Growth of Sureo 13 in El Paso

(U) A series of unique events positions California’s Sureo 13 street gang as one of the most criminally viable gangs in El Paso, Texas. An examination of the events preceding this outcome identifies three reasons that explain how a California-based gang is now one of El Paso’s most significant threats, and the implications for Texas in the future.

(U) Sureo 13 members relocated to avoid California’s “Three Strikes Law.” In 1994, California enacted the Three Strikes Law as part of their criminal justice sentencing program. Though several states, including Texas, have similar laws, California’s original law mandated that any offender previously convicted of two felonies must serve a 25-year-to-life sentence on any new felony conviction, including non-serious crimes.6 Since then, California has amended the rule. As a result of the original law, Sureo gang members with criminal records moved out of California hoping to avoid lengthy prison sentences in California. Other reasons for migrating include California mandates prohibiting gang associations, family ties in El Paso, and employment opportunities. According to data from El Paso law enforcement agencies, the Sureos are now the second largest and the second most criminally active gang in El Paso, behind the Barrio Azteca.

(U) The Sinaloa Cartel expanded opportunities for Sureo 13 to operate in El Paso. In early 2008, the Sinaloa Cartel moved into Juarez in hopes of taking control away from the Juarez Cartel. A bloody war ensued between the two cartels for approximately three years, with the Sinaloa Cartel reportedly emerging as the winner. The Sinaloa Cartel gained control of the drug plaza, but had no massive amount of support personnel in El Paso to move contraband. To remedy this shortfall, the cartel turned to the Sureo 13, the “backbone, muscle, and voice” of the California Mexican Mafia – already a longstanding client and trusted ally of the cartel.8

(U) Barrio Azteca’s reduced role in El Paso gave Sureo 13 operational opportunity. The decline of the Juarez Cartel affects El Paso significantly. The cartel developed an almost exclusive relationship with Barrio Azteca in Juarez to help facilitate the smuggling and distribution of drugs through El Paso. In El Paso, Barrio Azteca’s local knowledge and strength in numbers made them the dominant gang in the region. When the Sinaloa Cartel reduced the Juarez Cartel’s effectiveness in Juarez, Barrio Azteca’s effectiveness in El Paso also weakened, and opened criminal opportunity for Sureo 13. In addition, Barrio Azteca has been plagued with infighting and power struggles as law enforcement heavily targets the gang, severing the leadership channels and reducing their numbers on the street.

(U) Outlook: Monitoring the experience of Sureo 13 and Barrio Azteca in El Paso can provide insight and implications for Texas in the future. Despite the increases of Sureo 13 in El Paso, Barrio Azteca remains the dominant gang in the area. Their members have developed deep networks and contacts on both sides of the border to ensure that they still have a role in drug trafficking, and some members have already been identified as working for the Sinaloa Cartel. Law enforcement should recognize that if the Sinaloa Cartel continues winning trafficking corridors, even after the arrest of Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman, there may be corresponding movement and increased strength in Sureo 13 across Texas.