Texas Latino Prison Gangs
| DOI | 10.1177/0032885514524694 |
| Published date | 01 June 2014 |
| Author | Corey S. Sparks,Mike Tapia,J. Mitchell Miller |
| Date | 01 June 2014 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
research-article2014
Article
The Prison Journal
2014, Vol. 94(2) 159 –179
Texas Latino Prison
© 2014 SAGE Publications
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DOI: 10.1177/0032885514524694
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of Generational Shift
and Rebellion
Mike Tapia1, Corey S. Sparks1,
and J. Mitchell Miller1
Abstract
This article addresses what many observers of Texas’ prison gangs perceive
as significant changes in the hierarchical structure of various Latino groups.
Focusing on the state’s central and eastern regions, we provide a brief historical
context and overview of contemporaneous gang factions. We attempt to
understand gang dynamics as a function of emerging demographic patterns in the
prison population. Examining prison admissions trends for males from Texas’
four largest counties, we illustrate ongoing changes in race-age composition for
these metropolitan areas that reinforce depictions of changing gang structure
in unofficial reports, print media, and prison documentaries. We emphasize the
need for multimethod approaches and analyses of the United States–Mexico
Border region for a more complete view of the Texas gang landscape.
Keywords
Latino prison gangs, Texas prison gangs, changing prison gang structure
Introduction
Race-based gangs in Texas prisons date at least as far back as the early 1980s
and remain normative today. Their formation was aided by systematic racial
1University of Texas at San Antonio, USA
Corresponding Author:
Mike Tapia, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Texas at San Antonio, 501 West
Cesar Chavez Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78207, USA.
Email: mtapia@utsa.edu
160
The Prison Journal 94(2)
segregation and an inmate-based informal control mechanism prior to the
implementation of reforms (Fong, 1990; Pelz, Marquart, & Pelz, 1991;
Trulson & Marquart, 2002). Although racial segregation in Texas prisons has
been legally prohibited since 1979 (Marquart & Crouch, 1984), the ad hoc
social grouping of inmates continued to occur along racial lines over the next
full decade. Court-mandated integration quotas for the general prison popula-
tion were achieved as of the early 1990s, but for security and facility manage-
ment concerns, gang members continue to be grouped by race and gang
faction (Trulson & Marquart, 2002). Another characteristic that informs the
classification process for the gang population is geography, or more specifi-
cally, the jurisdiction in which inmates were convicted. This is especially true
of gang-involved Hispanic inmates, where subgroupings occur by major
Texas cities and regions.
Over time, these largely metro-based subgroupings have developed rival-
ries and alliances with other factions, both within and between cities. An
added layer of these prison gang “politics,” perhaps now equally as salient as
city-based identifiers, are intergenerational dynamics. A recent, but common
observation of any concerned with prison gang developments in Texas is that
intergenerational conflict has been underway for the past decade among
Latino gangs, and possibly dating back to the late 1990s. Prison-site docu-
mentaries and other media depictions of this phenomenon have also recently
surfaced (Eiserer, 2008; Ross Smith, 2010; Tyson, 2008), in turn, reinforcing
and perhaps fueling this tension.
Where the strains that intergenerational conflict has placed on Texas jails
and prisons appear to be significant (Tapia, 2013), it has yet to be met with
adequate research or policy attention. So far, only cursory descriptions of the
newly emerged prison factions and police intelligence efforts on their “free
world” activities have surfaced (Texas Department of Public Safety, 2007,
2011). This article addresses the phenomenon with an analysis of age-race
trends in male prison admissions from Texas’ four largest metropolitan coun-
ties. These are cities in the central and eastern regions that best exemplify the
emerging tensions among Latino gangs.
The Literature on Chicano Gang Structure
The Latino portion of our sample is primarily Mexican American/Chicano in
ethnic origin as per the geographical and historical context of the four “send-
ing” cities generating our prison admissions data. Chicano gang structure is
known to be hierarchical in nature, organized by age-graded “klikas,” rang-
ing from the teenage “pee-wee” sets to the more sophisticated adult prison
gangs (Horowitz, 1983; Moore, 1978, 1991; Sanders,1994; Valdez, Cepeda,
Tapia et al.
161
& Kaplan, 2009; Valdez & Sifaneck, 2004; Vigil, 1988, 2002). Despite this
well-noted fact, very little research has explored the organizational dynamics
that occur among the various ranks (Fleisher & Decker, 2001; Valdez et al.,
2009; Valdez & Sifaneck, 2004). Very little is thus known about the prison-
to-street politics that govern the gang-based activities of these groups and
about the interplay among the ranks in this hierarchy.
One reason for the lack of research on such topics is the perceived danger
(real or imagined) associated with investigations into the dealings of Chicano
prison gangs by non-justice system personnel. Such undertakings are all but
taboo, even among gang researchers (see Davidson, 1974 for a rare excep-
tion). As a result, power struggles among the gang groups and rebellion by
younger factions largely go undocumented in academic investigations. To
circumvent this methodological challenge, we use a macro-level approach to
explore whether recent demographic conditions in Texas prisons may have
contributed to a “next generation” rebellion in various parts of the state. This
shift has been characterized anecdotally by Security Threat Group practitio-
ners, the media, police, and Chicano gang members alike as a new generation
of prison-to-street hybrid groups that is challenging traditional prison gangs
for dominance in the spheres where they operate (Eiserer, 2008; Ross Smith,
2010; Texas Department of Public Safety, 2007, 2011; Tyson, 2008).
Tango History and Its Break From the Gang
Hierarchy
For the last several decades, many young Hispanic inmates in Texas prisons
generally, but especially those with prior street gang affiliations, have gravi-
tated to city-based sub-groups known as “Tangos.” These groups have tradi-
tionally been affiliated with Latino prison gangs that function as parent
organizations. A young Hispanic male inmate from a given Texas city who
was imprisoned might choose to “roll with” or “represent” his hometown
while serving out his sentence (Texas Department of Public Safety, 2007).
This was done for protection, camaraderie, and/or as a natural extension of
his street gang affiliation. The deeper implication was that the inmate served
as part of a reserve army and might be asked to perform illegal acts within the
facility to benefit the parent group.
Earlier in the history of these groups (ca. 1990), affiliation with a Tango
amounted to serving as “esquina” (“backup”) for violent or political conflicts
between its parent group and gangs of other races or conflicts with Latino
gangs from other cities or regions. Historically, then, Tangos were not only
considered foot soldiers, but the fiercely loyal among them achieved a more
distinguished level of recognition that could ultimately result in one
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The Prison Journal 94(2)
becoming a “Prospect[ive]” member of the prison gang. Each higher level of
affiliation (e.g., “esquina firme”) carried both increased privileges and respect
among Latino prison gangs and other inmates generally.
It appears, however, that playing the role of foot soldier was not histori-
cally a rewarding experience for most Tangos. By many informal accounts,
too few of them were afforded the opportunity to become full-fledged recruits
despite putting in ample “work” in the penitentiary to become worthy of con-
sideration toward membership.1 In short, the reward structure of the parent
group failed to accommodate a large base of gang hopefuls over time. The
widely heard claim among gang and non-gang members alike is that too
many young Chicanos were being “used” and filtered out by the existing
hierarchical system, leading to the disillusionment of the next generation of
would-be recruits (Eiserer, 2008; Ross Smith, 2010; Tyson, 2008).
Changing Mantras, Changing Structures
Whether to avoid the stigma of classification as a Security Threat Group in
prison or for ideological or other functional reasons, so far, the Tangos of this
generation resist the “prison gang” label. Members of these loosely affiliated
groups claim they are a support network for inmates who want to do their
time peacefully and avoid coercion from traditional Latino prison gangs.
According to recently filmed documentaries and other media accounts,
T.A.N.G.O. has been reclaimed and re-identified by the younger generation
of Latino inmates as an acronym meaning “Together Against Negative Gang
Organizations” (Eiserer, 2008). Similarly, according to several Tango mem-
bers and members of its parent group,2 Orejón, the San Antonio-based Tango,
has also taken on a new meaning from that of the past few decades. By these
accounts, O.R.E.J.O.N. is newly construed as an acronym meaning “One
Race Equally Joined or Nothing,” a far cry from its original connotation as
being the eyes and ears (i.e., oreja) of the Mexican Mafia.
These mantras reflect a changing mind-set among the new generation
toward a horizontal...
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