The Latin Counts is a

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

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 collective ...

based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois with a significant branch in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan. It is a member of the

People Nation People Nation is an alliance of street gangs generally associated with the Chicago area. They are rivals of the Folk Nation alliance of gangs. Formation The People Nation was formed in reaction to the creation of the Folk Nation alliance of gang ...

alliance.

History

The gang was founded in 1955 by Mexican youth who lived in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. The original gang members were all related to one another. They named their gang the Texans in homage to the state they originally lived in. The name was changed two years later to Sons of Mexico City to better reflect their ethnic heritage. The name was changed again in 1959 to Latin Counts, inspired by the Polish Counts gang that operated in the nearby

Back of the Yards New City is one of Chicago's 77 official community areas, located on the southwest side of the city in the South Side district. It contains the neighborhoods of Canaryville and Back of the Yards. The area was home to the famous Union Stock Ya ...

community. During the 1960s, the Counts came into conflict with other gangs in the Pilsen area such as the Latin Kings, the Satan Disciples and Ambrose. In 1970, a faction broke off from the gang to be named the Bishops, who retained good relations with the Counts due to their sharing of the same bloodlines. Their alliance, known as the Bishop Count Nation, would falter in the 1990s. In 1978, the Counts were invited to join the

, a gang alliance formed in the

Pontiac Correctional Center Pontiac Correctional Center, established in June 1871, is an Illinois Department of Corrections maximum security prison (Level 1) for adult males in Pontiac, Illinois. The prison also has a medium security unit that houses medium to minimum sec ...

. This enabled the Counts to enter a truce with the allied Latin Kings, but street-level conflict continued between the two gangs until the 1980s. Starting in 1980, the Counts began to expand their operations to the

South Chicago South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtown. ...

and South Deering neighborhoods, and in the mid-1980s they expanded to

Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 85,268. making it the 11th largest municipality in Illinois. The town of Cic ...

and

Southwest Detroit Southwest Detroit is a neighborhood within Detroit. Clark Park is a popular park within the Hubbard Farms area of southwest Detroit (not to be confused with the similarly named Clark Park in Philadelphia). It is also well known for Mexicantown, De ...

. In 1991, a full-scale shooting war erupted with the Latin Kings over turf in Cicero that pitted all Counts and Kings against each other nationwide."Latin Counts"
''Chicago Gang History''. Retrieved September 29, 2019.

Insignia

The Latin Counts' symbol consists of a depiction of

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some ...

, a knight's helmet, and a sword with five slashes above it. The helmet was inspired by the image on the Knight brand matchbox. Their colors are black and red.

Territory

The Latin Counts gang operates in the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

, including the Pilsen, South Deering, McKinley Park,

and

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

communities. Its territory has expanded to include

, Michigan, and the suburbs of Lincoln Park and

Ecorse Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroit ...

.Hutchinson, Derick (June 2, 2017
"Lengthy Sentences Given to Members of Latin Counts, Vice Lords Detroit Street Gangs"
''clickondetroit.com''. Retrieved September 29, 2019.

Activities

The Latin Counts' main criminal activity involves drug activity and racketeering.Cross, Lauren (March 4, 2019

''nwi.com''. Retrieved September 29, 2019. Gang members have also been involved in selling stolen weapons, assaults and murders.

Leadership

Isidro Garza led the gang while incarcerated in the

Michigan Department of Corrections The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) oversees prisons and the parole and probation population in the state of Michigan, United States. It has 31 prison facilities, and a Special Alternative Incarceration program, together composing appr ...

, where he was already serving 25-50 years for a 1993 gang-related homicide. He was sentenced in federal court to an additional ten years in prison.Ainsworth, Amber (April 10, 2018
"Final Detroit's Latin Counts Street Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy"
''clickondetroit.com''. Retrieved September 29, 2019. In June 2017, gang leader Victor Vasquez was sentenced to 30 years in prison for violating the

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

. Benjamin Beightol, the gang's Minister of Information who disseminated Garza's instructions to lower ranking gang members, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges on January 29, 2018, and faced ten years in prison.

References

{{authority control Organizations established in 1955 1955 establishments in Illinois People Nation Hispanic-American gangs Latino street gangs Mexican-American culture in Chicago Gangs in Chicago Gangs in Detroit