The Texas Syndicate ( es, Sindicato Tejano, links=no) is a mostly

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

-based street and

prison gang A prison gang is an inmate organization that operates within a prison system. It has a corporate entity and exists into perpetuity. Its membership is restrictive, mutually exclusive, and often requires a lifetime commitment. Prison officials and ot ...

consisting of predominantly Mexican American membership. The Texas Syndicate, unlike 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 a ...

Nuestra Familia Nuestra Familia (Spanish for ''"our family"'') is a criminal organization of Mexican American (Chicano) prison gangs with origins in Northern California. While members of the Norteños gang are considered to be foot soldiers of Nuestra Familia, b ...

, has been more associated or allied with Mexican immigrant prisoners.

Overview

The Texas Syndicate was established at Folsom State Prison in California in 1978 in direct response to the other California prison gangs, notably the

Aryan Brotherhood The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as the Brand or the AB, is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate which is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Southern P ...

and

, which were attempting to prey on native Texas inmates. The Syndicate is the oldest Texan prison gang. The Texas Syndicate has approximately 1,300 members, the majority of whom are Mexican American males aged between 20 and 40. While the gangs maintains its headquarters in California, there are around 1,000 members in prisons and jails throughout Texas, with many others operating on the outside. The Texas Syndicate also operates in state and federal prisons across the United States, with significant activity being reported at FCI Oakdale in Louisiana and San Quentin State Prison in California, as well as some representation in the Florida Department of Corrections. As a street gang, heavy activity has been reported in Austin, Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley and the Dallas Fort Worth area in Texas.

Criminal activity

Development of the Texas Syndicate was initially motivated by self-protection against the historical "building tenders" in prison. After building tenders disappeared due to a court order, the Syndicate's activities turned to drug trafficking,

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

, prostitution, protection,

illegal gambling Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, ...

, and contract killing. Released or parole members who generate money for the gang must surrender a 10% tax ("the dime") of all proceeds toward the Texas Syndicate in prison. Gang members smuggle multikilogram-quantities of powdered cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, and multiton-quantities of marijuana from Mexico into the U.S. for distribution inside and outside prison. Gang members have a direct working relationship with associates and/or members of the Gulf Cartel. Syndicate members have been known to carry out contract killings for

Los Zetas Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indiscr ...

, the paramilitary wing of the Gulf Cartel.Ruben Mosso, 'El MIlenio" "FBI: Los Zetas - problema de seguridad nacional para EU," January 9, 2008

Structure

TS has a paramilitary structure, headed by a president and vice president elected by the general membership. Prison units are individually controlled by a local chairman and vice chairman. Beneath them in the gang hierarchy are captains, lieutenants, sergeants of arms, and numerous soldiers. The history of the group and documented acts of violence in other jurisdictions warrant their certification as a Security Threat Group. Receipt of inmates on interstate compact and the current membership in groups with Hispanic and Latino supremacy ideology lend to the threat of an organizing TS within our facilities. The main activities of the TS are centered on drug trafficking, extortion, protection rackets, and internal discipline and contract murdering.

Rules

Texas Syndicate members abide by a constitution requiring members to: *Be a Texan *Always remain a member *Place the Texas Syndicate before anything else *Understand that the Texas Syndicate is always in the right *Wear the Texas Syndicate tattoo *Never let a member down *Respect other members *Keep all gang information within the group Additionally, gang leadership is determined by

democratic election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

s, requiring a unanimous decision. Recruitment is conducted through social ties and involves a

background check A background check is a process a person or company uses to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and this provides an opportunity to check and confirm the validity of someone's criminal record, education, employment history, and oth ...

to screen for

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...

References

External links

* http://www.communitycorrections.org/psn/publications/TxGngThrtAssessment2010.pdf * Schiller, Dane.
First prison gang remains a force to fear
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...