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In the late 1960s, Mexican-American inmates of the California state prison system began to separate into two rival groups, Norteños (north) and Sureños (south), according to the locations of their home towns; the north-south dividing line was near Bakersfield. Part of the motivation for the split was the desire of the Norteños to be independent of "La Eme", the Mexican Mafia, which tended to treat Mexican-American inmates from the north worse than those closer to the border. Norteños continue to have violent territorial rivalries with Mexican gangs, while the Sureños are still affiliated with La Eme.
The group developed a formal structure in 1968, with a written constitution, under the leadership of Folsom State PrisonFolsom State Prison FSP , also known as Folsom State Prison, Represa is one of 33 prison facilities operated by the California Department of Corrections (CDC). FSP is located near the City of Folsom in Sacramento County, 20 miles (32 km) from the state ca inmate Robert Rios "Babo" Sosa. Its current hierarchyA hierarchy (Greek hieros sacred, arkho rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things. Different fields use the word in slightly different ways, but a particular definition (below) captures the core of almost all uses. Originally, "hierarchy" meant " is based in Pelican Bay State PrisonPelican Bay State Prison is a California State Prison located in the northwestern part of the state near Crescent City, California on 275 acres (1. It is best-known for its Secure Housing Unit (S. where inmates presenting serious management concerns are i. It has developed offshoots throughout the United States and in EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se.
As with many other gangs, Norteños have been involved in trafficking of drugThis article is about chemical substances. For other meanings of the word "drug", see Drug (disambiguation A drug is any substance that can be used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, or modify a chemical process or processes in the body. The word "drs and contraband, and armed conflict with other gangs and with policeFor the band, see The Police. For the Polish town, see Police, Poland. Police forces are government organisations ostensibly charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order. The word comes from the French, and less directly from the Greek pol. According to police investigatorsA detective is an officer of the police who performs criminal or administrative investigations, in some police departments, the lowest rank among such investigators (above the lowest rank of officers and below sergeants), a civilian licensed to investigat, a requirement for full membership in Nuestra Familia is committing at least one murder for the gang.
Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate the group, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s. In 2000 and 2001, 22 members were indicted on racketeering charges, including several who were allegedly serving as high-ranking gang leaders while confined in Pelican Bay. Thirteen of the defendants pled guilty; the other cases are still ongoing. Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trade. The largest of the federal investigations, Operation Black Widow, caused controversy when it became public that some gang members were serving as FBI informants while still continuing to organize violent crimes.