Joaquin Guzman Loera Analysis

Gang violence in El Paso has been a major issue since the emergence of one particular gang- Barrio Azteca. The streets of El Paso were rapidly becoming a home to violent acts and drug trafficking. The infamous Barrio Azteca gang was formed in the 1980’s in Texas originally as a prison gang. It started as a prison gang before they expanded out onto the streets. Several of the founding members banded together in order to protect themselves from rival Hispanic gangs. Since there was a drug, war going on between two established Hispanic gangs. The Barrio Azteca was able to quickly grow in large numbers without much problems. They began to recruit new inmates coming into the prison for violent gang crimes. By 1996, the Barrio Azteca had grown to become the one of the most powerful criminal enterprises of southern Texas. Due in part to the increasing deportations of many of their gang members, the gang was able to expand their territory across the border into Mexico. Their main goal was being able to control the drug trade between Texas and Mexico ("Barrio Azteca”). Soon after starting to help the Juarez Cartel with their drug operation, they eventually formed an alliance with the cartel. Currently the gang has thousands of members in the United States and Mexican prisons, and continues to spread throughout the states (Cawley). Since the gang follows a hierarchical command of control, many of its leaders rule from within the prison system. The gang is commonly referred to as either the

The Barrio Azteca was formed in El Paso, Texas in the prison system. The gang was formed in 1986 and the gang increased after 1996 because of the rise in the deportation of Mexican criminals from the USA. Therefore, when illegal Mexicans were caught by the police and sent to jail they would join the gang inside the prison. After, they are sent across the border to Mexico they would move up the ranks of the gang and carry out crimes. In the early 2000s, the gang was in control of the prisons in Chihuahua. By 2013, the gang was estimated to have 5,000 members in Juárez and around 3,000 members in the USA. The FBI has concluded that there are Barrio Azteca members in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and reportedly in New Mexico.

In Breaking Through, by Francisco Jiménez, the protagonist, Francisco Jiménez, begins as a nervous and scared child with few friends and eventually matures into a confident and well-liked young man. As a sixth-grader at Santa Rosa Middle School, Francisco first feels like he does not fit in, he is not very skilled at English and has few friends. And for the few relationships he does have, they do not last, such as Francisco's relationship with Peggy, a girl from his school. Her parents ask Francisco about his ethnicity, and once they find out he is Mexican, Peggy ignores him at school. Francisco has lost one of his friends, a rare commodity to him, and this has a greatly negative effect on him. As Francisco encounters challenges like being

A man with nothing to lose could be considered more dangerous than a man with everything to gain. The back and forth, up and down, side to side story of Jimmy Santiago Baca’s life shows that a man fighting for survival yearns more than a man fighting for simple possessions. Prison takes a toll on people differently, but those people have to accept the fact that jail is now their home for the time being. Some may continue along the beaten path, consuming themselves with regret, anger, or denial; but, some may seek a smoother path, digging deep and figuring out how to modify their lives for the better. It is evident that in his memoir, A Place to Stand, Jimmy Santiago Baca sought out this

Netflix has done it again and made an absolute gem of a series. Its most recent commission "Narcos" focusses in on one of the world's wealthiest ever hoodlums. At his peak in the mid 1990's the terrifyingly fierce Pablo Escobar was pulling in 66 million dollars a day! How could he have been able to accomplish this amazing count? I hear you ask… Well, this fella was the biggest shipper of cocaine into the US. At a certain point 80% of the coke used in the US got through Escobar's drug channels. Four out of each five lines were his!

Mexico has a drug problem that continues to grow. About three and a half years ago, Felipe Calderon was sworn in as president and immediately declared "war" on drugs.

Mexico has a weak judicial and police institution and a large economy with consumers. Mexico the hub of one of the world's most sophisticated drug networks. For decades, drug trafficking organizations used Mexico's entrenched political system to create a system-wide network of corruption that ensured distribution rights, market access, and even official government protection for drug traffickers. Officers could make an exchange for money to be able to let people pass by with the drugs or trafficking that they are participating in. This is a reason why the drug distribution is so big in Mexico. Harper

In San Diego, North Count, gang activity has Rudy Espudo, the leader of a Mexican Mafia group, pleaded guilty to his organized crimes involving the mafia. He is known for drug trafficking, violence, and extortion. Espudo has been involved in the Mexican Mafia by encouraging other gangs to pay “taxes” to the main Mexican Group, “La Eme”. Paying taxes the smaller groups in order to get supplies such as illegal substances to sell. Espudo played a leading role in his gang that was under the protection of the Mexican Mafia. Espudo main role was to give protection towards anyone who supported “La Eme”. Whoever stopped or refuse to tribute support, they would get a green light in the mafia community, which means that the other gangs that are protected

Do you know what corruption means? Corruption is a dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers). Do you know about corruption in Mexico? Corruption in Mexico is obviously nothing new, but there have been many cases that are unbelievable, but true. How did it start? This paper will explain you the beginning of corruption and some cases that had happened recently.

The Latin Kings are one of the most violent street gangs in America, “The Latin King gang is one of the most violent gangs in the United States today, with leaders unafraid to order "hits" on correctional officers and followers unashamed to obey their orders” (Knox 2000), and this book is an account of one of its members. At the beginning of My Bloody Life, Reymundo Sanchez the author, is living in Puerto Rico with his mother, who is 16 at the time of his birth and father, who is 74 and passes when Reymundo is five. My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King, is a disturbingly authentic and petrifyingly captivating account of the birth of a Latin King. It follows Reymundo from birth in Puerto Rico until the day he quits the gang at the age

Marijuana is a word that often comes with a negativity. However, it seems to be a current hot topic these days. In 2012 Colorado legalized marijuana and has caused quite a commotion. Many citizens are left wondering if their state will be next to legalize the drug. The state of Texas has strongly been against the legalization of marijuana for years.

Born into a poor, farming family in Sinaloa Mexico, Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera or referred as, El Chapo (Shorty) Guzmán is a notorious Mexican drug lord who leads the Sinaloa Cartel. At the age of 15, Guzmán started a marijuana farm along with his cousins in an effort to support his family financially. However, by his 20s, Guzmán decided to pursue different opportunities other than working in poppy fields for the remainder of his life like most people living near his family. Through working for drug lord Héctor "El Güero" Palma and Félix Gallardo, Guzmán swiftly moved up the ranks after the leaders of the Guadalajara Cartel approved of Guzmán’s business strategies which included execution of smugglers who failed to deliver drug shipments on time. Utilizing these tactics and connections with other drug lords, Guzmán founded his own cartel which he expanded to create Mexico’s largest and wealthiest cartel.

Mexico’s drug cartels are the worst they have been in years, and all the problems stem from a lack of proper decision making from the government at every level . Since Colombia was taken away from the drug scene, Mexico’s cartels have made up for the slack and then some. Subsequently, cartels in Mexico also began to flourish at a time when Mexico was in the process of instituting a new form of government. Not only is Mexico trying to work out the kinks of their new democracy, but the cartels are pushing more drugs than ever before; Mexico needs to address this problem. To make matters worse, a number of Mexican officials are corrupt, unaccountable, or distrusted by the people. The president forced to take action was Felipe Calderón. In Fisher and Taub’s Mexico’s

A drug lord, government official, hero, and villain. Pablo Escobar was born December 1, 1949 in a town named Rionegro, Colombia. His mother, Hermilda was a schoolteacher, and his father Abel farmed. Escobar had achieved a great quantity of accomplishments, from the beginning to the end of his life. From his rise as a lower class citizen, to then being amongst the prestigious group of people associated with the economic rank of the 1 percent. From his start at a young age serving as class president, to then obtain a position in the Colombian Government after winning the hearts of the Medallion people. From being compared to just any scumbag criminal selling some fake lottery tickets, to being in control of the strongest drug cartel in Colombia’s

Differential Association Theory is a criminology theory that looks at the acts of the criminal as learned behaviors. Edwin H. Sutherland is accredited with the development of the Differential Association theory in 1939. Sutherland, a sociologist, and professor most of his life, developed Differential Association theory to explain how it was that criminals came to commit acts of deviant behavior. Under the differential association theory, there is no biological or genetic basis for criminal behavior. The learning of such behavior took place within a group already knowledgeable about and engaged in criminal behavior. The education includes how to commit crimes and all the rationalizations for doing so. Criminal behaviors are reinforced by hearing them referred to in positive terms. Respect for social norms such as following the law is held in contempt by the group.