RT Article
T1 Gangs in the El Paso-Juárez borderland: the role of history and geography in shaping criminal subcultures
JF Trends in organized crime
VO 23
IS 4
SP 367
OP 384
A1 Tapia, Mike 1974-
LA English
YR 2020
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1750715686
AB This paper examines the early precursors of organized criminal subcultures using the U.S.-Mexico border city of El Paso, Texas as a case-study. El Paso is known as the birthplace of the pachuco; the Mexican Americans’ original street-oriented subculture. It formed the basis for the numerous delinquent groups that would emerge there throughout the decades, ultimately producing a binational organized crime syndicate called the Barrio Azteca. This barrio-prison-cartel hybrid is a modern group with deep roots in the street-gang subcultures of the region. The current study shows that its ties to drug gangs in Ciudad Juárez and subsequent federal prosecutions were recent catalysts in its escalation as a unique cross-border entity. The work is informed by archival material, police data, and multi-faceted fieldwork with gang members and police. It illustrates how the El Paso-Juárez metroplex has fostered particular criminological dynamics not seen in any other place in the U.S. to date.
K1 History
K1 Gangs
K1 U.S.-Mexico border
DO 10.1007/s12117-019-09374-7