Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos
HPL members use hand signals
Founded1980s
Founding locationTexas Department of Criminal Justice[1]
Years active1980s–present
TerritoryTexas and Mexico[1]
EthnicityLatinos[1]
Membership (est.)1,000[1]
ActivitiesDrug trafficking[1]

Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos (HPL) is a Mexican American prison gang founded by Chino Avitia in Texas during the early 1980s.[2][3][4] The English translation of the gang's name is "Brotherhood of Latin Gunmen". It operates in all Texas prisons and on the streets in many communities in Texas, particularly in Laredo.[5] HPL is active throughout Mexico with its largest contingent in Nuevo Laredo. The gang is structured and is estimated to have 1,000 members.[2][6] Members maintain close ties to several Mexican drug trafficking organizations and are involved in the trafficking of large quantities of cocaine and marijuana from Mexico into the United States for distribution.

Criminal activities

The Pistoleros Latinos began to grow in the 1990s after the gang began recruiting members from cities outside of the Rio Grande Valley.[6] The original HPL members from the valley resented the new members being recruited from San Antonio and Houston. A power struggle within the prison gang’s ranks ensued causing the group to splinter into two separate chapters. The original HPL members decided to call themselves the HPL 45s, while the San Antonio and Houston members were known as the 16/12s. The two factions went to war and finally reunited under the name HPL in 1998.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Prison Gangs justice.gov (May 11, 2015)
  2. 1 2 "The Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos (1,000 members)". Business Insider. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Chris Summers (2006-09-01). "Racist prison gang to learn fate". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  4. ↑ "Controlan 20 pandillas narcotráfico en EU" [They control 20 drug trafficking gangs in the US]. El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2020-07-17. Por ejemplo, bandas como le "Mexikanemi", "Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos" y "Texax Sindicate" luchan por el control de las rutas de estupefacientes en las áreas fronterizas de Del Rio/Eagle Pass, Laredo, Rio Grande Valley y otras zonas de sur de Texas.
  5. ↑ Guillermo Contreras (December 17, 2013). "Gang leader, member sent to prison in drug case". San Antonio Express-News. San Antonio. Retrieved 17 July 2015. The HPL is based in Laredo but has members across the border in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. It also has a presence in other Texas cities.
  6. 1 2 "The Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos". US Department of Justice. Retrieved 2020-07-17. The Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos (HPL) The Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos (HPL) is a Hispanic prison gang formed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in the late 1980's. HPL operates in most prisons and on the streets in many communities in Texas, particularly Laredo. HPL is also active in several cities in Mexico, and its largest contingent in that country is located in Nuevo Laredo. HPL is structured and estimated to have 1,000 members. HPL members maintain close ties with Mexican DTOs and are involved in the trafficking of large quantities of cocaine and marijuana from Mexico into the U.S.
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