US Civil War 2024

drug cartel, an illicit consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition and control the production and distribution of illegal drugs. Drug cartels are extremely well-organized, well-financed, efficient, and ruthless. Since the 1980s, they have dominated the international narcotics trade.

The U.S. war on drugs began under the administration of Pres. Richard Nixon. Following his victory in the 1968 presidential election, Nixon declared that drug abuse was “public enemy number one.” Efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States—which was the primary destination for most narcotics—became increasingly focused on curtailing foreign production of marijuana and heroin. It was during the 1970s, however, that a growing U.S. demand for cocaine led to the creation of the earliest drug cartels.

The Medellín cartel, the first major drug cartel in Colombia, began in the mid-1970s when Colombian marijuana traffickers began smuggling small quantities of cocaine into the United States. As the trade grew, a diverse group of entrepreneurs became involved, ranging from well-respected individuals with backgrounds in ranching and horsing to petty criminals. The growing demand for cocaine soon prompted the expansion of the trade beyond small amounts tucked into suitcases. The cartel purchased private planes to carry its shipments, constructed more sophisticated drug laboratories, and even purchased a small island in the Caribbean for refueling its aircraft.

Violence, lapses in organization, and competition from the emergent Cali cartel (centered in Cali, Colombia) fractured the Medellín cartel in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Pablo Escobar, leader of the Medellín cartel, became one of the most wanted men in the world and was forced into hiding. In 1993 he was killed during a shoot-out with a special Colombian police task force, leading to the primacy of the Cali cartel.

The Cali cartel had a more subtle style and sophisticated approach than the Medellín cartel. The members of the Cali cartel quickly reinvested their drug profits into legitimate businesses. They deliberately undermined the Medellín cartel as it became increasingly unpopular and violent. The Cali cartel went so far as to help Colombian police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) track down Escobar. Many leaders of the Cali cartel were arrested in the 1990s, and by the next decade the organization had largely disbanded. While other cartels in Colombia filled the void, their power failed to match that of their predecessors.

In the 1960s and early ’70s, Mexico was known primarily as a supplier of marijuana. However, as U.S. efforts in Colombia slowed the flow of drugs from South America, Mexico emerged as a source of cocaine. The Tijuana cartel—created by members of the Arellano Félix family, especially the brothers Ramon and Benjamin—was founded in the late 1980s and became one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico, responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine into the United States.

The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips began as an alliance between two autonomous gangs, and developed into a loosely connected network of individual "sets", often engaged in open warfare with one another. Its members have traditionally worn blue clothing since around 1973.

The Crips are one of the largest and most violent associations of street gangs in the United States. With an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 members in 2008,[4] the gangs' members have been involved in murders, robberies and drug dealing, among other crimes. They have a long and bitter rivalry with the Bloods.

Some self-identified Crips have been convicted of federal racketeering.

Main article: Debate over the origins of the Crips gang

Some sources suggest that the original name for the alliance, "Cribs", was narrowed down from a list of many options and chosen unanimously from three final choices, over the Black Overlords and the Assassins. Cribs was chosen to reflect the young age of the majority of the gang members. The name evolved into "Crips" when gang members began carrying around canes to display their "pimp" status. People in the neighborhood then began calling them cripples, or "Crips" for short. In February 1972 the Los Angeles Times used the term.

Another source suggests "Crips" may have evolved from "Cripplers", a 1970s street gang in Watts, of which Washington was a member. The name had no political, organizational, cryptic, or acronymic meaning, though some have suggested it stands for "Common Revolution In Progress", a backronym. According to the film Bastards of the Party, directed by a member of the Bloods, the name represented "Community Revolutionary Interparty Service" or "Community Reform Interparty Service".

Main article: Debate over the origins of the Crips gang

Gang activity in South Central Los Angeles has its roots in a variety of factors dating to the 1950s, including: post-World War II economic decline leading to joblessness and poverty; racial segregation of young African American men, who were excluded from organizations such as the Boy Scouts, leading to the formation of black "street clubs"; and the waning of black nationalist organizations such as the Black Panther Party and the Black Power Movement.

Stanley “Tookie” Williams met Raymond Lee Washington in 1969, and the two decided to unite their local gang members from the west and east sides of South Central Los Angeles in order to battle neighboring street gangs. Most of the members were 17 years old. Williams however appears to discount the sometimes-cited founding date of 1969 in his memoir, Blue Rage, Black Redemption.

In his memoir, Williams also refuted claims that the group was a spin-off of the Black Panther Party or formed for a community agenda, writing that it "depicted a fighting alliance against street gangs—nothing more, nothing less." Washington, who attended Fremont High School, was the leader of the East Side Crips, and Williams, who attended Washington High School, led the West Side Crips.

Williams recalled that a blue bandana was first worn by Crips founding member Curtis "Buddha" Morrow, as a part of his color-coordinated clothing of blue Levis, a blue shirt, and dark blue suspenders. A blue bandana was worn in tribute to Morrow after he was shot and killed on February 23, 1973. The color then became associated with Crips.

By 1978, there were 45 Crip gangs, called sets, in Los Angeles. They were heavily involved in the production of PCP, marijuana and amphetamines. On March 11, 1979, Williams, a member of the Westside Crips, was arrested for four murders and on August 9, 1979, Washington was gunned down. Washington had been against Crip infighting and after his death several Crip sets started fighting against each other. The Crips' leadership was dismantled, prompting a deadly gang war between the Rollin' 60 Neighborhood Crips and Eight Tray Gangster Crips that led nearby Crip sets to choose sides and align themselves with either the Neighborhood Crips or the Gangster Crips, waging large-scale war in South Central and other cities. The East Coast Crips (from East Los Angeles) and the Hoover Crips directly severed their alliance after Washington's death. By 1980, the Crips were in turmoil, warring with the Bloods and against each other.

Aryan Nations is a North American antisemitic, neo-Nazi and white supremacist hate group that was originally based in Kootenai County, Idaho, about 2+3⁄4 miles (4.4 km) north of the city of Hayden Lake. Richard Girnt Butler founded Aryan Nations in the 1970s.

In 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) classified Aryan Nations as a "terrorist threat." In a review of terrorist organizations, the RAND Corporation called it the "first truly nationwide terrorist network" in the United States and Canada.

Aryan Nations beliefs are based on the teachings of Wesley A. Swift, a leading figure in the early Christian Identity movement. Swift was originally exposed to British Israelism while at the Angelus Temple through the teachings of visiting minister Gerald Burton Winrod. Swift was also exposed to Charles Parham's British Israel teachings at the Angelus Temple. Combining British Israelism, extreme antisemitism, and political militancy, Swift later founded his own church in California in the mid-1940s known as the Anglo-Saxon Christian Congregation. He hosted a daily radio broadcast in California during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1957, the name of his church was changed to the Church of Jesus Christ–Christian, a name which continues to be used by Aryan Nations churches.

William Potter Gale introduced Richard Girnt Butler to Swift in 1962.  Swift quickly converted Butler, who was an admirer of Adolf Hitler and Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, to Christian Identity. When Swift died in 1971, Butler fought against Gale, James Warner, and Swift's widow for control of the Church of Jesus Christ–Christian. Butler eventually gained control of the organization and moved it from California to Idaho in 1973.  After moving to Idaho, Butler founded Aryan Nations as a paramilitary wing of the church with an ideological mixture of Christian Identity and Nazism.[citation needed]

From 1974 until 2001, the Aryan Nations headquarters was located in a 20-acre (8.1 ha) compound 1.8 miles (3 km) north of Hayden, Idaho. Aryan Nations had a number of state chapters, but it was highly decentralized and the chapters' ties to the organization's headquarters were extremely loose. The group hosted an annual World Congress of Aryan Nations at Hayden Lake for Aryan Nations members and members of similar groups.

Aryan Nations had difficult relations with the city of Coeur d'Alene. In 1986-1987, there were a series of bombings of the homes of local human rights activists, after which, the city and Aryan Nations left each other alone. In 1998, Aryan Nations applied for a permit for a march in downtown Coeur d'Alene. Although the permit was approved, the city declared a public holiday on the same day, resulting in an empty downtown of closed businesses.

Until 1998, the leadership of Aryan Nations remained firmly in the hands of Richard Girnt Butler. By that time, he was over 80 years old, and his health was poor. As Butler's health deteriorated, so did his ability to lead the group. This led to a series of violent events in Coeur d'Alene involving skinheads who had infiltrated the group.

At the annual Aryan Nations World Congress in 2001, Neuman Britton was appointed to lead Aryan Nations as Butler's successor. Following Neuman's death in August 2001,Butler appointed Harold Ray Redfeairn of Ohio to lead Aryan Nations as his successor; he had been agitating for control of the organization since the mid-1990s. Redfeairn had brought in Dave Hall, an FBI informant who exposed the group's illegal activities. After this was discovered, Redfeairn was distrusted by some in the group. Redfeairn and August Kreis III, the propaganda minister for Aryan Nations, formed a splinter group, and Butler expelled them from Aryan Nations.

A few months later, Redfeairn returned to form an alliance with Butler. Butler's 2002 World Congress drew fewer than 100 people, and when he ran for mayor, he lost, garnering only 50 votes against more than 2,100 votes. Redfeairn died in October 2003, and Butler died of heart failure in September 2004. At the time of Butler's death, Aryan Nations had about 200 actively participating members.

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In September 2000, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) won a $6.3 million judgment against Aryan Nations from an Idaho jury, who awarded punitive and compensatory damages to plaintiffs Victoria Keenan and her son Jason. The two Native Americans had been beaten with rifles by Aryan Nations security guards in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in July 1998. The woman and her son were driving near the Aryan Nations compound when their car backfired, which the guards claimed to misinterpret as gunfire. The guards fired at the car, striking it several times. The car crashed and one of the Nations guards held the Keenans at gunpoint, beating them. Two of the assailants, Aryan Nations security chief Edward Jessie Warfield and guard John Yeager, were prosecuted for the attack. Warfield pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to two to five years in prison. Yeager entered an Alford plea for assault and was sentenced to up 2.5 years in prison. A third attacker was never found.

The SPLC filed suit on behalf of the Keenans. A jury found that Butler and Aryan Nations were grossly negligent in selecting and supervising the guards, and awarded the Keenans $6.3 million. A local attorney from Keenan's legal team said that the large verdict was partly to compensate the Keenans, but largely to punish Butler and his followers, and serve to deter similar conduct in the future.

The $6.3 million verdict caused Butler to file for bankruptcy one month later. As part of the bankruptcy process, the group's property was put up for auction. SPLC loaned the Keenans $95,000 to bid on the 20-acre property. In February 2001, the group's Hayden Lake compound and intellectual property, including the names "Aryan Nations" and "Church of Jesus Christ Christian", were transferred to the Keenans. Idaho native and millionaire philanthropist Greg Carr purchased the property from the Keenans, donating it to the North Idaho College Foundation. It has been converted to a park dedicated to peace.

Local fire departments demolished some of the church's former buildings by burning them during training exercises. Edgar Steele, the attorney who had represented Butler, was later convicted of hiring a handyman to kill his own wife. In 2014, Steele died while serving a 50-year prison sentence.

Hells Angels, club for motorcyclists that was founded in California in 1948 and is probably the best known of the so-called “outlaw motorcycle gangs.” The club, which is international, has been accused of criminal activity by law enforcement officials.

Most Hells Angels members are white males who ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Each is known by a “legal,” or official, name, which may be a colourful nickname. Membership status is tightly controlled. Prospective members face a long vetting and initiation process, and anyone who resigns is required to turn in all regalia bearing the Hells Angels name or “Death Head” insignia. Some chapters have clubhouses, but members typically gather in bars and ride out together on runs to recreational destinations.

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was founded in Fontana, California, near San Bernardino, in 1948. “Hell’s Angels” was previously used as a nickname by World War II bomber crews and as the title of a Hollywood film (1930) about World War I aviators. The club opened chapters in San Francisco and Oakland in 1954 and 1957, respectively, and expanded internationally into New Zealand in 1961. However, it was not well known to the general public until 1965, when Thomas C. Lynch, attorney general of California, issued a report on motorcycle gangs, including the Hells Angels, and their “hoodlum activities.” Critics accused Lynch of sensationalism, but his report was heavily publicized in the American national media. Then Hunter S. Thompson made the San Francisco Bay Area Hells Angels the subject of his first book, Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (1966). Thompson befriended many members, but the club ultimately turned against him and beat him. His qualified admiration of Ralph (Sonny) Barger, long-term president of the Oakland chapter, helped turn Barger into the club’s public face and national spokesman.

The Hells Angels’ notoriety increased after they were hired to provide stage security for the Altamont festival, a free Rolling Stones concert presented at a motor speedway east of Oakland on December 6, 1969. A Hells Angels member was charged with murder in connection with the stabbing death of Meredith Hunter, an 18-year-old male concertgoer, but was later acquitted. Images of violence at the concert appeared in Gimme Shelter (1970), a widely distributed documentary by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin. Meanwhile, low-budget filmmakers were exploiting the public fascination with motorcyclists by producing numerous “biker movies,” a number of which referenced the Hells Angels in the title: The Wild Angels (1966), Hells Angels on Wheels (1967), Hell’s Angels ’69 (1969), and Angels: Hard as They Come (1971).

The Hells Angels were always known as dangerous barroom fighters, but law enforcement officials later came to associate them with the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs, especially methamphetamine. Two attempts to prosecute club members under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizatons Act ended in mistrials in the early 1980s. However, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, in its National Gang Report, has continued to characterize the Hells Angels as an “outlaw motorcycle gang.”