The Spanish Cobras is a primarily, but not exclusively, Latino street gang in multiple states throughout the Midwest, USA with a large presence on the north and west side of Chicago, Illinois.

History

Not much is known about the origins of the Spanish Cobras except they were started during the late 1950s on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois by Puerto Rican teenagers. They landed in the Humboldt Park neighborhood sometime during the 1960s. In the early 1970’s a teen named Richard “King Cobra” Medina became leader of the gang at Maplewood/Campbell & Potomac and had the Spanish Cobras fight the Evergreen Hustlers to take over the intersection of Evergreen & Washtenaw. KC then started a Young Cobras faction who attacked other gangs' turf, soon claiming Artesian & Potomac ("A-Town"), and Mozart & Cortland ("Sin City").

The Spanish Cobras were introduced to the world in June 1977 after stabbing a member of the Latin Kings during the annual Puerto Rican Parade. The Kings retaliated later that day, with the two gangs fighting out in the open. Chicago Police then shot into the crowd and killed two innocent bystanders, which ignited the Humboldt Park riot.

After the riots, KC sent his brothers up north to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to open Cobra sets.

The Insane Spanish Cobras made headlines again in Spring 1979 during their bloody war with the Insane Unknowns. This resulted in over 10 homicides and a public response from Mayor Jane Byrne.

Before his murder at 20 years old in a drive-by shooting, KC grew the Spanish Cobras into a powerhouse around the Division & Maplewood area (“The Motherland”), Division & Artesian, and Artesian & LeMoyne. They expanded into West Humboldt Park at Ridgeway & Thomas, and took over the hoods of North Ave & Harding, LeMoyne & Springfield and Springfield & Hirsch which branched into Avers & Hirsch ("Westown Cobras").

In the 1980s, according to criminologist John Haggerdon's book Insane the Chicago Way,

What began to take shape was the daring plan of gang leaders incarcerated in Statesville—Fernando "Prince Fernie" Zayas from the Maniac Latin Disciples, Anibal "Tuffy C" Santiago from the Insane Spanish Cobras, and David Ayala from the Two Sixers—to create a local Latino Mafia.

Young Cobra sets opened like wildfire along Central Park Ave in Logan Square at Shakespeare & Central Park “Young & Crazy”, Central Park & Dickens “Wild Side”, Tripp & Dickens “The Terror Dome”. The lethal Monticello & Cortland ("Murder City") branched into Lawndale & Cortland ("Cobrasland"). Insane Spanish Cobras took over Fullerton Ave in the Hermosa neighborhood on Kilbourn & Fullerton “The Killing Fields", and the notorious Fullerton & Tripp “No Love City”. On Tripp & Wabansia “The Snake Pit” and at Drake & Wolfram “Diamond City”. Lawrence & Lawndale opened and branched out in the Northside while Cicero & Armitage took them westward.

In the summer of 1989, the Francis & Stave YLO Cobras attacked the Simon City Royals at Kosciusko Park in a series of fist fights and shootouts, taking control of "Koz Park" by early 1990 and opening Schubert & Avers.

In April 1992, the Kedzie & Barry Maniac Latin Disciples accused a Spanish Cobra of selling them bad drugs. The angry MLD’s returned and shot the dealer to death. The Cobras retaliated with a deadly riot against the MLD’s that led into a ferocious two-day war of guns blazing on Logan Square streets until it was finally resolved by the OG’s.

The Spanish Cobras and Latin Disciples were strong allies from the late 1960’s to the mid 1990s. However, they began fighting over drug territory around 1993/94. As head of the Insane Familia, the Spanish Cobras took their alliance of Insane Deuces, Insane Dragons, OA’s, Insane Campbell Boys and others to war against the Maniacs and Almighty Folks.

In 1996 the escalation of the Insane—Maniac war made the Chicago Tribune.^[1] That same year, in retaliation for the murder of a high-ranking member, West-Town Cobras shot up a Latin Kings wedding resulting in casualties. The shooting, which was caught on videotape, was broadcast on local news stations. This increased the pressure on law enforcement to go after the gang.

After a nine-month undercover narcotics investigation, in January 1998 the Chicago Police Department arrested 31 Spanish Cobras in "Operation: Mongoose", including some gang leaders. This resulted in the closure of a couple of Cobra sections.

In the early 2000s, the Lawndale & Cortland Cobras went on a rampage, and removed the MLD’s from North Avenue & Lawndale after violent gunfights.

When a Spanish Cobra boss was released from prison in 2019 after serving 20 years, he intensified the war on the street to reclaim old turf lost to rivals.

Territory

The Chicago neighborhoods with the strongest active Insane and YLO Spanish Cobra presence are: Humboldt Park, Hermosa, Logan Square, Belmont-Cragin, Avondale, Albany Park and Kelvyn Park. With a small presence in the McKinley Park area on the south side (34th & Western).

The Spanish Cobra Nation is also found in the Chicago suburbs of Waukegan, Bensenville and Cicero. Police have reported Cobra gang members in the suburbs of Elgin, Wheeling, Mount Prospect and Northlake.

They are known to operate in other parts of Illinois, as well as in Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha in Wisconsin, and in Detroit. They are quite large in Flint, Michigan.^[2] Law enforcement has also reported Spanish Cobras in Ohio, Connecticut and South Florida.

References

https://m.chicagoreader.com/chicago/insane-way-john-hagedorn-latino-gangs-sgd/Content?oid=20511448

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-08-29-9608290299-story.html

Further reading

• Luthern, Ashley (March 11, 2015). "11 with ties to Spanish Cobra gang arrested for armed robbery". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 2, 2015.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/05/06/gang-war-to-blame-for-string-of-shootings-in-hermosa-west-logan-square-police-say/