No Boundaries : Transnational Latino Gangs and American Law Enforcement

No Boundaries is a former journalist's disturbing account of what many consider the 'next Mafia' - Latino crime gangs. Like the Mafia, these gangs operate an international network, consider violence a matter of routine business, and defy U.S. law enforcement at every level, from city police departments to federal agencies. Also like the Mafia, the gangs spawn kingpins such as the notorious Nelson Varela Martinez Comandari, the man who nearly became the first 'Latin godfather' in the United States.Focusing on the Los Angeles-based Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street Gang, and the Chicago-based Latin Kings, Tom Diaz describes how neighborhood gangs evolved into extremely brutal, sophisticated criminal enterprises. In tandem with this story, he tells how local and federal authorities have struggled to suppress the gangs. As Diaz makes clear, however, the problem of transnational Latino gangs is not merely a law-and-order problem. It involves complex national issues, such as racial tensions and immigration policy, as well as conflict in Latin America, world economic pressures, and other global forces.