18th Street gang
18th Street graffiti | |
| Founded | 1960s |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Territory | United States, Mexico, Central America, Canada |
| Ethnicity | Mexicans, Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, Nicaraguans, Native American, Costa Ricans |
| Membership (est.) | 30,000–50,000 members |
| Activities | Drug trafficking, prostitution, extortion, kidnapping, robbery, assault, murder |
| Allies | |
| Rivals | |
| Designated as a terrorist group by | |
The 18th Street Gang, also known as Eighteen St, Barrio 18, Mara 18, or simply 18 in North America, is a multi-ethnic (largely Mexican and Central American), street gang from Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest street gangs in Los Angeles, with 30,000–50,000 members between the United States, Mexico, and Central America. A United States Department of Justice report featured the following statement regarding 18th Street and rival gang MS-13: "These two gangs have turned the Central American northern triangle into the area with the highest homicide rate in the world".