Texas Syndicate
The Texas Syndicate (TS), also known as Sindicato Tejano, is a predominantly Mexican-American prison and street gang founded in the early 1970s at Folsom State Prison in California by native Texan inmates seeking mutual protection against dominant rival groups like the Mexican Mafia.[1][2] Upon members' return to Texas, the organization rapidly entrenched itself within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system by the late 1970s, evolving into one of the state's most powerful and violent security threat groups while extending operations beyond prison walls to include cross-border criminal enterprises.[2][3] With an estimated 1,300 members—requiring sponsorship and proven criminal acts for initiation—the TS maintains a paramilitary hierarchy featuring a chairman (sillon), lieutenants, sergeants, and decentralized regional cells that enforce strict discipline through violence.[1][2] The gang's core activities encompass large-scale drug trafficking of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana, often in alliance with Mexican cartels, alongside extortion, prostitution, assaults, and murders both inside prisons and on Texas streets.[1][2][3] Its identifiers include tattoos of a superimposed "T" over "S" and the term cuerno(s) (Spanish for "horn(s)"), signaling allegiance amid ongoing rivalries, notably a declared war against the Mexican Mafia in 1985 that escalated prison violence.[2] Law enforcement assessments classify the TS as a Tier 2 threat in Texas—downgraded from Tier 1 due to federal disruptions and internal fractures—yet it persists as a significant transnational risk, fueling community violence and organized crime networks.[1][3]History
Origins in California Prisons
The Texas Syndicate emerged in the late 1970s within the California state prison system, primarily among incarcerated Tejanos—Texas-born Mexican Americans—who faced systematic abuse and outnumbered status from established California-based Hispanic inmate groups.[4][5] These Texas inmates, often transferred or serving sentences in facilities like Folsom or San Quentin, encountered hostility from the dominant Mexican Mafia (La Eme), a prison gang formed in the 1950s that exerted control over Hispanic inmates through extortion, violence, and taxation of contraband.[6][7] In response to this predation, a group of Texas prisoners organized the Syndicate as a self-protection entity, emphasizing mutual defense, loyalty to fellow Tejanos, and resistance to external impositions such as "avalanches"—forced tributes to La Eme.[6][4] The gang's formation reflected broader ethnic and regional tensions in California's overcrowded and racially stratified prisons, where California Chicanos (Californios) viewed Texas Hispanics as outsiders lacking local ties or deference.[5] Early activities focused on internal solidarity rather than expansion, with recruits vetted through shared Texas origins and adherence to strict codes against cooperation with guards or rival factions.[8] By the early 1980s, as members completed sentences and returned to Texas, the Syndicate's California roots had solidified its structure, which later replicated in Texas facilities upon reincarceration.[6] This origin distinguished it from native California gangs like Nuestra Familia or La Eme, positioning the Syndicate as a transnational protector for Texas Hispanics amid interstate prisoner movements.[7] No single founding event or leader is documented in official records, underscoring its grassroots emergence from survival imperatives rather than charismatic initiation.[4]Transfer and Establishment in Texas
The Texas Syndicate originated in California's Folsom State Prison during the early 1970s, when a group of incarcerated Texas natives formed the organization primarily for self-defense against established California prison gangs, such as the Mexican Mafia, that targeted out-of-state inmates.[9] These founding members, facing isolation and predation in the California system, structured the group along ethnic lines to provide mutual protection and solidarity for Mexican-American Texans.[9] The transfer to Texas occurred through the parole and recidivism of these early members, who returned to their home state, engaged in criminal activities, and were subsequently imprisoned in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system, bringing the Syndicate's framework with them.[10] By 1975, the gang had formally established itself within Texas prisons, where returning inmates recruited locals and positioned the group as a defensive force against the state's notorious "building tender" system—inmate enforcers empowered by prison authorities to maintain order through violence.[6] This establishment marked the Syndicate's adaptation to Texas's punitive environment, emphasizing internal discipline and protection rather than overt aggression initially. Membership grew modestly in the late 1970s, reaching 56 documented members by March 1983, remaining the sole recognized inmate organization in TDCJ until that point due to oversight by building tenders and limited external disruptions.[6] The 1980 Ruiz v. Estelle consent decree, which dismantled the building tender system by early 1983, inadvertently empowered the Syndicate by creating a power vacuum, allowing it to expand influence through recruitment and enforcement of its codes among vulnerable Mexican-American inmates.[6] This shift solidified the gang's role in Texas prisons as a hierarchical entity focused on territorial control and retaliation against perceived threats.[9]Key Conflicts and Evolution
The Texas Syndicate experienced rapid growth following its establishment in Texas prisons through inmate transfers from California in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with membership increasing from 56 documented members in March 1983 to 296 by September 1985.[6] This expansion capitalized on a power vacuum created by the 1982 elimination of the inmate "building tender" system, which had previously enforced informal control, allowing the Syndicate to assert influence through extortion, drug distribution, and internal discipline.[6] A pivotal conflict arose from longstanding tensions with the Mexican Mafia (also known as Mexikanemi or Texas Mexican Mafia), escalating into declared warfare in August 1985 when Syndicate members fatally assaulted four Mexican Mafia inmates, marking an official declaration of hostilities.[6] The rivalry intensified throughout 1984 and 1985, accounting for 6 of 20 gang-related homicides in 1984 and 13 of 23 in 1985, all targeting Mexican Mafia members; notable incidents included the September 2, 1985, murder of Raymond Delgado, a Mexican Mafia member, at the Ramsey II Unit, followed by additional retaliatory killings within a week.[6][11] In response to the violence, which prompted emergency lockdowns and administrative segregation housing rising from 1,860 in September 1985 to 3,055 by January 1987, leaders from both gangs proposed a truce in October 1985 via a letter to prison rights groups, though sporadic clashes persisted.[6][12] Over subsequent decades, the Syndicate evolved from a primarily protective prison entity into a hybrid prison-street organization, forging ties with Mexican cartels for drug importation while facing erosion of dominance in Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities due to rivalries with emerging groups like Tango Blast, which originated in the 1990s as a decentralized alliance against established gangs including the Syndicate.[3] Law enforcement disruptions, including targeted racketeering indictments, further constrained its operations, shifting emphasis toward extramural narcotics networks by the 2010s, though core prison influence remained tied to Hispanic inmate solidarity against perceived threats from white supremacist groups like the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.[3]Organization and Operations
Internal Hierarchy and Governance
The Texas Syndicate maintains a paramilitary hierarchical structure, with a system-wide president and vice president elected by members to oversee the organization across prisons and territories.[6][13] At the local or unit level—typically within specific prison facilities—a chairman is appointed to manage operations, supported by a vice chairman, captain, lieutenant, sergeant at arms, and soldiers who execute directives such as enforcement and criminal tasks.[6][13] Ranks below the president and vice president are primarily merit-based on demonstrated criminal performance and loyalty, but they revert to soldier status upon transfer to a new unit, preventing entrenched power blocs and promoting adaptability.[6] Governance emphasizes a democratic process distinct from more authoritarian prison gangs like the Mexican Mafia, requiring unanimous member votes for major decisions, including recruitment approvals and disciplinary actions such as "hits," which may involve volunteering or drawing lots for executioners.[6][14] This collective consent fosters consensus but enforces strict accountability, with violations of the gang's eight-rule constitution—covering loyalty, territorial claims, and prohibitions on informing—punishable by death to maintain discipline.[6] Recruitment reinforces hierarchical integrity through rigorous vetting, including homeboy connections, background checks, and unanimous approval, rejecting applicants deemed unreliable.[6][14] This structure, documented in Texas prison systems since the gang's formalization in the 1970s, supports territorial control and internal cohesion amid rival threats, with leadership adaptations evident by 1985 when membership reached approximately 296 amid heightened violence.[6][14]Rules, Codes, and Membership Processes
The Texas Syndicate maintains a formal constitution, referred to as the reglas del ese te, which outlines strict codes of conduct enforceable by death for violations.[4] Core tenets include requiring members, known as cuernos (Spanish for "horns," a self-referential term), to prioritize the gang above all else, maintain lifelong commitment ("por vida"), and uphold mutual respect while keeping internal information confidential.[6][4] Decisions within chapters are made by majority vote, with sponsors (padrinos) held accountable for recruits' actions, and profits from drugs or other enterprises shared among full members (carnales).[4][15] Membership recruitment follows a rigorous, multi-step process emphasizing ethnic and geographic ties, primarily targeting Texas-born Mexican-American (Tejano) inmates for self-protection and operational control.[6][4] Prospective members must establish a "homeboy connection" by being vouched for by an existing member, undergo a thorough background investigation conducted by the unit chairman, and secure unanimous approval from the chapter via vote.[6][15] Successful candidates enter a probationary period of 1 to 3 years, during which they prove loyalty through criminal activities; upon elevation to full carnal status, they must obtain the gang's tattoo (copia), such as "TS," as a permanent identifier.[4] Rejection typically results in coercion, forcing non-members into roles like providing protection or engaging in prostitution to generate gang revenue.[6] While traditionally limited to Tejanos, membership has expanded to include individuals from Latin American countries and other Hispanic groups in federal prisons.[15] The gang's explicit rules, as detailed in confiscated constitutional documents, form the basis of internal governance and discipline:- Be a Texan (or Tejano/Mexicano).[6][4]
- Once a member, always a member ("por vida").[6][4]
- The Texas Syndicate comes before anyone and anything.[6]
- Right or wrong, the Texas Syndicate is right at all times.[6]
- All members will wear the Texas Syndicate tattoo.[6][4]
- Never let a member down.[6]
- All members will respect each other.[6]
- Keep all gang information within the group.[6]