Varrio Nuevo Estrada, also known as VNEx3,Moore, J. W. (1991). Going down to the barrio: homeboys and homegirls in change. (pp. 35). Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. is a

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

criminal street gang founded in

Boyle Heights Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, in the

Estrada Courts Estrada Courts is a low-income housing project in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, California. It is located between E. Olympic Blvd. on the south and E. 8th St. on the north, and S. Lorena St. on the east and S. Grande Vista Ave. on the w ...

housing projects. VNE is one of 34 gangs in a 15-square-mile area east of downtown Los Angeles.

History

Varrio Nuevo Estrada formed in the housing project community of

after the government relocated many poor families into the area in the early 1940s.Vigil, J. D. (2002). A rainbow of gangs: street cultures in the mega-city. (p. 52-53). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. Today VNE is still one of the most prominent Hispanic gangs in eastside of Los Angeles.

Location

Varrio Nuevo Estrada has expanded to other local communities such as

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

, Montebello, and Lancaster. VNE

clique A clique ( AusE, CanE, or ), in the social sciences, is a group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popular ...

s include the Tiny Winos, Tiny Locos, Devils, Ninos, Chicos, Cutdowns, Dukes, Tiny Dukes, Tiny Gangsters, Termites, Santos, Spantos, and Malos in Estrada Courts, Tick Tocks, and Tiny Locos in Montebello, Primos in Lancaster and Rosamond and Southill which sits in parts of Montebello, Bell Gardens and Downey. They are primarily a Los Angeles County gang and there is no validated evidence of subgroups outside of Southern California.

Culture

Varrio Nuevo Estrada places great admiration on those that have died in the Varrio. One well known example of this is the mural in memory of one such VNE member located at 3328 Hunter Street in Boyle Heights. The artist, Daniel Martinez, painted the mural in 1973. Like many other gangs they place a great deal of importance on respect, loyalty and trustworthiness. They have old ties to the Mexican Mafia and unite under the Sureño banner in the California Prison System despite rivalries.

Criminal activity

Varrio Nuevo Estrada is so notorious that the Los Angeles City Attorney petitioned the court for a permanent gang injunction against them on November 15, 2004. Even with the gang injunction, VNE continues to exert influence in their respective territories. They are still involved in a variety of criminal activities from murder, arms trafficking, drug sales to

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

s, assaults and various other petty crimes.CNN Staff Writer. (2011, March 23). L.a. police identify baseball fan beating suspect as gang member. CNN News. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-23/justice/california.fan.beating.arrest_1_gang-member-street-gang-police-chief-charlie-beck?_s=PM:CRIME Like most other street gangs, Varrio Nuevo Estrada gets the majority of its income from street level narcotics distribution.

References

External links