The Logan Heights Gang, also known as Varrio Logan Heights or LH, is a Sureño street

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

based in

Southeast San Diego Southeast San Diego refers to the southeastern portion of the City of San Diego (excluding South San Diego) and the neighborhoods south of State Route 94 ( Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway) and east of Downtown San Diego. There are three official ...

History

The Logan Heights Gang was established in Southeast San Diego, when several individual

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

street gangs from the neighborhoods of

Barrio Logan Barrio Logan is a neighborhood in south central San Diego, California. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of East Village and Logan Heights to the north, Shelltown and Southcrest to the east, San Diego Bay to the southwest, and National Cit ...

, Logan Heights, and Memorial unified. The gangs date back to

car club A car club or automotive enthusiast community is a group of people who share a common interest in motor vehicles. Car clubs are typically organized by enthusiasts around the type of vehicle (e.g. Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang), brand (e.g. ...

s in the 1970s. Currently the gang is composed of five main subsets (Red Steps, 30th Street, 33rd Street, Logan Heights 13) that operate within these neighborhoods. There is also a small subset called Logan Heights Clicka that operates within the Colina del Sol neighborhood of the City Heights district in San Diego. Although they are based in San Diego, the influence of the gang has spread to other cities in the United States (

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and

Lakewood, Washington Lakewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 63,612 at the 2020 census. History Lakewood was officially incorporated on February 28, 1996. Historical names include Tacoma/Lakewood Center and Lakes Distric ...

) and

Tijuana, Mexico Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

. Membership is not restricted to Mexican-Americans, and the gang has included

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

nationals, members from other

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

cultures, and Native Americans.

Allies

The Logan Heights Gang has been an ally to the

Tijuana Cartel The Tijuana Cartel (Spanish: ''Cártel de Tijuana'') or Arellano-Félix-Organization (Spanish: ''Organización Arellano Félix'', AFO) is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Founded by the Arellano-Félix family, the ...

(also known as the Arellano-Félix Organization) over the

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

smuggling route to the border city of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. This alliance began on November 8, 1992, when Héctor Palma Salazar ("Guero"), struck out against the Tijuana Cartel at a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajar ...

. Although eight Tijuana Cartel members were killed in the shootout, the Arellano-Félix brothers successfully escaped from the location with the assistance of Logan Heights gangster David "D" Barron. In retaliation, Tijuana Cartel, with the LHG as their hired gunmen, attempted to set up Guero's partner, Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, at Guadalajara Airport on May 24, 1993. In the ensuing shootout, the LHG killed six civilians. Among the casualties was the Roman Catholic Cardinal

Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo (11 November 1926 – 24 May 1993) was an Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Mexico who served as the eighth archbishop of the see of Guadalajara and as a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Posadas Ocampo was ...

. The church hierarchy originally believed Posadas had been targeted as revenge for his strong stance against the drug trade. However, Mexican officials believe Posadas just happened to be caught in cross fire. The Cardinal had arrived at the airport in a white

Mercury Grand Marquis The Mercury Grand Marquis is an automobile that was sold by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company from 1975 until 2011. From 1975 until 1982, it was the premium model of the Mercury Marquis line of full-size sedans, becoming a standalone mo ...

town car, known to be popular amongst drug barons, making it a target. Intelligence received by Logan Heights gang leader David "D" Barron was that Guzmán would be arriving in a white

town car. This explanation, however, is often countered due to Ocampo's having been wearing a long black

cassock The cassock or soutane is a Christian clerical clothing coat used by the clergy and male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in certain Protestant denomi ...

and large

pectoral cross A pectoral cross or pectorale (from the Latin ''pectoralis'', "of the chest") is a cross that is worn on the chest, usually suspended from the neck by a cord or chain. In ancient and medieval times pectoral crosses were worn by both clergy and ...

, as well as his having shared no similarity in appearance with Guzmán, and Ocampo's having been gunned down from only two feet away. The Logan Heights Gang also has close ties to the

Mexican Mafia The Mexican Mafia (Spanish: ''Mafia Mexicana''), also known as ''La eMe'' (Spanish for "the M"), is a Mexican American criminal organization in the United States. Despite its name, the Mexican Mafia did not originate in Mexico, and is entirely ...

Enemies

Enemies of the gang include several San Diego County gangs (most notably Barrio Sherman, Varrio Shelltown, and Old Town National City), and Los Angeles gangs from

Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...

and

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

In popular culture

In 2010, Logan Heights along with nearby Southeast San Diego neighborhood,

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

, was featured on The History Channel's '' Gangland'' television series. The show documented the Logan Heights Gang in the Season 6 episode titled "The Assassins," which first aired on February 19, 2010. The gang, its ties to the cartel, and many of the above-mentioned events are depicted in the 2017

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

and

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

series ''

El Chapo EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

'' and season three of the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico.

References

External links