Latino Gang Tattoos

The Latin Kings are a large mostly-Hispanic gang that formed in the Chicago area. Latin Kings tend to use five-pointed crowns to identify themselves. The crown may be accompanied by the initials "LK," and often will have some sort of inflammatory symbolism aimed at an opposing gang. A lion or a lion wearing a crown with a variety of inscriptions may also be seen. This Latin King is also a member of the Mexican Mafia. It's not because he's a Dodger fan that he has "LA" on his right shoulder.

EPT is not a pregnancy test. At least not on this guy's hand. It stands for the "El Paso Tip," which formed in Texas before the Mexican Mafia. The 1940's Pachucos from Texas would tattoo "ept" or just "t" for "the Texas Tip." California pachucos used the tattoos "LA" for "Los Angeles" and "M" for "Maravilla" and later for "Mexican Mafia."

"La Eme Primero" means "The Eme First." Literally that requires the wearer to make the Mexican Mafia prison gang (La Eme) his first allegiance above God, country, family, his street gang, and his own self interest. This tattoo also incorporate elements of Aztec warrior culture. Mexican gangs love Aztec symbols. They have even been known to use the ancient Aztec language as code.

This crude Sureños tattoo uses Roman numerals to represent the letter 'M.'

Another Mexican Mafia tattoo with an open hand referencing the "black hand of death." The scars on this inmate are from prison stabbings.

A Sureño tattoo on both calfs displays the use of the number 13.

SUR is an acronym for "Southern United Raza," a sureño gang.

This Sureño tattoo uses Roman numerals to represent the thirteenth letter of the alphabet.

The Mexican Mafia uses the letters "eMe," which spell out the Spanish pronunciation of the letter "M."

Another Florencia 13 gang tattoo.

This Mexican Mafia tattoo uses an eagle and snake, which is evocative of the central element on the Mexican flag, although not an exact match. The "M" is of course for "La Eme." Sometimes in such tattoos, the eagles wings are stylized into the shape of an M.

An 18th Street gang member's tattoo displaying "18" in Roman numerals and the Spanish word for that number, "dieseocho," spelled out prominently.

This facial tattoo displays the use of the number 13, which represents the letter "M," showing that this gang member is aligned with the Mexican Mafia.

This "MS" tattoo identifies its owner as a member in Mara Salvatrucha, a large Hispanic gang formed in the Salvadoran community in Los Angeles. Some gang members were deported to El Salvador years ago and now the gang has spread throughout that country and Honduras. MS-13 (it is affiliated with the Mexican Mafia) spread throughout the United States as Central American immigrants came to America to find work. The gang is now very strong on the East Coast.

In the late 1960s, a division occurred among rival groups of Mexican-American inmates in California that led to the forming of a new group to challenge the Mexican Mafia. It would later be known as the Nuestra Familia. Membership was often determined according to the locations of their hometowns; the north-south dividing line is generally accepted as Bakersfield. The group's gang tattoos include the letters "NF."

The Mexican Mafia prison gang, also known as La Eme, was formed in the late 1950s by members of a Chicano street gang incarcerated at the Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, Calif. The initial founding member was Luis "Huero Buff" Flores, who was previously a member of the Hawaiian Gardens gang. Mexican Mafia symbols include a black hand, the letters "MM" or the term La Eme.

These Sureño tattoos display the use of the number 13 (in this case the Roman numeral for 10 with the Arabic number 3).

The Mexikanemi gang, represented in this tattoo, originally formed in the Texas Department of Corrections in the early-1980s. The gang’s ‘EMI’ symbol is often confused with the Mexican Mafia ‘EME’ symbolism. Mexikanemi means "Free-Mexican".

Mexican-American gang members in California are divided into north and south. The southern gang, the Sureños often identify themselves with the number "13" to represent "M," the thirteenth letter of the alphabet, to pay homage to the Mexican Mafia. Sureños will use the symbols Sur, XIII, X3, 13, and three dots in their graffiti and tattoos.

Some members of the Hispanic prison gang Nuestra Familia identify themselves with a sombrero and bleeding dagger or a dagger flanked by the letters "NF."

The elaborate tattoo of the Aztec calendar on this inmate is a common symbol on many Hispanic prisoners. Much more significant is the "M" just below his throat, which marks him as a member of "La Eme", the Mexican Mafia prison gang. Also note that the snake in the eagle's beak is in the shape of an "M."

The Norteños, affiliated with Nuestra Familia, use the number 14 in tattoos because "N" is the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. It is sometimes written as "X4," or in Roman numerals as "XIV."

This tattoo represents membership in West Side 18th Street, a Hispanic gang in Los Angeles.

A Florencia 13 gang member uses the word "trece," which is Spanish for the word "thirteen."

Florencia 13 is a large Hispanic gang in Los Angeles County that borrows its name from a major street (Florence, pronounced Florencia in Spanish). The gang uses "13" in its name to show its strong allegiance to the Mexican Mafia.

This pectoral tattoo identifies the wearer as a member of the Fresno Bulldog gang.

Many Mexican Mafia members tattoo themselves with the "black hand of death." The symbol is an homage to Sicilian Mafia members, who used it to describe a method of extortion. Later, "The Black Hand" became synonymous with the American Mafia.

This tattoo is on a member of one of Fresno, Calif.'s oldest criminal street gangs, the Fresno Bulldogs. They were once part of the founding Norteno alliance under the Nuestra Familia, but they split from NF. They are now not affiliated with either Nuesta Familia or the Mexican Mafia.

The 13 on this gang members fingers shows that he is a Sureño aligned with the Mexican Mafia. He could also be a member of La Eme affiliated gangs such as MS-13, Sur 13, and many others.

This Mexican Mafia tattoo depicts a Mexican Grim Reaper image. It is a memorial for Rocky Luna, a Mexican Mafia member who was killed by the gang for his role in the making of the movie "American Me." La Eme did not approve of the portrayal of its founder in the movie.