Sureños engage in such criminal activities as drug smuggling, illegal sales of firearms, various types of theft, murder for many reasons, and the trafficking of humans. They remain the primary Mexican street gang in California and have members across the entire state. Sureños sets are spreading and continue to approach dangerously high numbers in both Southern and Northern California. Although concentrated in California, Sureños factions are quickly moving outside of the state and establishing themselves across the nation.
The Sureños was formed in the 1950’s inside of prison. Like the rest of the country, predominantly white gangs controlled life within prison walls. White prison gangs, such as the Blue Bird Gang, had control over the rest of the inmates, so Mexican-American inmates decided it was time to create their own gang. Not only was this done for protection, but also because they wanted to compete for control over illegal activity that took place behind bars. Soon street gang members began referring to themselves Surenos and were informed that once arrested they would become a member of the Mexican Mafia.
The Mexican Mafia operates on a tiered system. Sureños work under the direction of “shot callers” within prison. There is one “shot caller” per prison; he is an inmate who has received updates from three gang leaders–one who controls tiers, another who controls yard security, and the third who controls education. Shot callers then report to supervisors in prisons across the state.
Sureños members use identifiers like every other gang. Their symbols include XIII, X3, 13, and 3 dots, all of which refer to 13th letter of the alphabet, “M”. The letter M stands for Mexican Mafia. The symbol La Eme is also used, which is translated to “the M” in Spanish. A black hand and the letters MM, a reference to Mexican Mafia, are also used by Sureños as symbols. Other identifiers such as the color blue and the words “Sureno,” “Sur,” and “Southerner” are used among Sureños, as are many different hands signs.
Sureños and their control of the streets are widespread throughout the United States. Because the Mexican Mafia aligns itself with larger gangs such as the Italian Mafia and the Aryan Brotherhood, they have the added benefit of their power reaching even further than its beginnings in Southern California. Almost every federal institution and state penitentiary in the U.S. has identified Mexican Mafia prisoners, and Sureños street gangs have made their presence known in every state in the country. These statistics make them not only the largest prison gang in California but in the entire United States. There is not a facet of criminal activity that the Sureños gangs and the Mexican Mafia have not been involved in within the U.S.