Diversity is a Strength: Ethnic LA Street Gangs Unite To Form "Super Gang"

From the New York Post: "Inside rise of LA’s ‘super gang’ united by secret Mexican mafia pact and soft laws." The article relates:

    Police have told The California Post once-sworn enemies MS-13 and 18th Street have set aside differences and decades of violence to form a “super gang,” cashing in on drugs, extortion and a booming underground casino trade that now rivals narcotics for profitability.

    The gangs are operating under the control of the Mexican Mafia, abandoning traditional tit-for-tat street warfare in favor of profit, coordination and expansion.

    Captain Ahmad Zarekani, head of the Los Angeles Police Department Gang and Narcotics Division, revealed gangs are exploiting low police numbers and soft-on-crime laws to grow their operations.

In something hearkening back to their sun-worshiping forefathers:

    MS-13, one of the most violent gangs in the US, is known for committing horrific murders. In one infamous case known as the “mountain murders,” victims had their hearts cut out and were dismembered by machete. Another was choked to death for defacing MS-13 graffiti. 

    The 18th Street gang grew from humble Hispanic origins in 1960s LA to a ruthless, multinational killing machine. Members have executed cops, killed women and babies by torching apartment buildings, and once employed a hit man called Crook who’s behind 15 murders.    

And:

The alliance spans 239 miles from Bakersfield down to California’s southern border, near Chula Vista. In Los Angeles alone, there are more than 100,000 gang members, roughly a third Ayon said are believed to be working with affiliated rival gangs as Sureños.

The article goes on to explain that the reason for the alliance is that profits are so high that the violence just interferes with the bottom line; but that the high profits are allowing the gangs to buy off politicians.