Federal agents arrested 37 accused gang members with ties to the infamous Mexican Mafia Thursday in a series of stunning predawn raids in Orange County meant to put Southern California’s criminal underworld on notice.
Dubbed “Operation Gangsta’s Paradise,” agents aimed to disrupt operations of the group, also known as La Eme — a violent, prison-based “gang of gangs” said to control almost all Hispanic street gangs in California.
The feds aimed to disrupt the operations of the Mexican Mafia, also known as La Eme, a violent, prison-based “gang of gangs” said to control almost all Hispanic street gangs in California. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
Alleged gang members were arrested in a series of 30 raids, mostly in Orange County. Carlin Stiehl for CA PostThe arrests targeted alleged murders, drug dealers and racketeers taken in by FBI agents at residences in and around the city of Santa Ana.
The California Post has had front-row seats to a series of raids in recent weeks, witnessing the FBI take down the 18th Street “supergang” in March, as well as a major identity theft bust in North Hollywood.
LA’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, described the Mexican Mafia as “the most powerful, prolific gang that operates out of state prisons.”
“They control and operate all the Hispanic street gangs out in the neighborhoods,” he added.
Federal agents working with local police arrested 43 suspects in all, confiscating firearms and seizing illegal drugs while conducting a total of 30 raids mostly in Orange County.
Federal agents conduct a raid, with armed officers in armored vehicles and one man with his hands raised. The alleged gang members are charged with crimes including drug trafficking. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
Some of the agents rode in military-style vehicles. Carlin Stiehl for CA PostAnother 10 indictments came down for members of the Mexican Mafia already in state prison.
The Post watched Thursday morning as dozens of agents gathered before dawn in the parking lot of an Orange County mall.
Wearing camouflage while armed with assault weapons and battering rams, the officers formed a caravan of vehicles heading to the residence of Andrew “Speedy” Hernandez, wanted on charges of drug trafficking.
Upon arriving at Hernandez’s bungalow home in Lakewood, the agents detonated a flash-bang and announced themselves, calling for the alleged drug dealers to come out.
Hernandez and an associate exited the home before the agents handcuffed them and took them into custody. Other raids took place in Santa Ana and Anaheim.
Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, called Thursday’s raids “a pivotal moment in a relentless fight for the safety of our communities.”
Throughout the investigation, FBI agents seized 25 firearms, tens of thousands of dollars in cash, four kilos of fentanyl, 120 pounds of methamphetamine, three kilos of cocaine, two pounds of heroin and 5,000 fentanyl pills, Davis said.
Operating from behind bars, the Mexican Mafia enforces strict taxes on illicit drug sales, protection rackets, human trafficking and more, directing local street crews and acting as a criminal government that metes out deadly punishments to those who step out of line, authorities said.
The Mafia allegedly serves as a go-between for Mexican drug cartels and so-called narco supergangs that distribute the cartels’ products in California and beyond, including the 18th Street Gang and MS-13.
The “13” in the gang’s name identifies its tie to the Mexican Mafia, with the letter “M” representing the 13th letter in the alphabet.
Smaller gangs — including Puente-13, Venice-13 and Florencia-13 — also deal in drugs, extortion and violence at the behest of incarcerated shot-callers in the Mexican Mafia, according to law enforcement officials.
The daring arrests targeted alleged murders, drug dealers and racketeers taken by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation from a series of residences in and around the city of Santa Ana. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
Agents wore fatigues and carried assault weapons. Carlin Stiehl for CA PostThe Mafia derives its power both from its connections to the drug cartels and its control over the prison system, police and federal agents say.
Members of the Mafia allegedly use conjugal visits and phone calls as conduits for the issuance of orders to those in the outside world.
Since most gang members can assume they’ll be imprisoned at some point, the Mafia’s ability to kill inmates at will ensures that its dictates will be followed.
Federal agents in have sought in recent months to loosen the Mexican Mafia’s stranglehold over the Southern California drug trade and associated violence.
Federal authorities targeted Puente-13 members in a series of arrests in December, as well as 18th Street gang members in a series of arrests last month.
The alleged criminals arrested Thursday were taken to the Santa Ana Police Station for processing. They were set to be arraigned in federal court Thursday afternoon.
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Luis Cardenas, a.k.a. “Gangster,” who is an inmate at Ironwood State Prison, directed the actions of those targeted Thursday through his management of local gangs in Southern California, directing drug trafficking, tax collection and ordering violence, Essayli said.
Cardenas, who is already serving a life sentence, now faces fresh federal charges.
“We’re here to clean up our communities from violent and organized crime,” he said. “That’s the bread and butter of the FBI and the Department of Justice.”
