Marielitos (gangs)

Marielitos is the name given to criminal groups of Cuban-Americans who were among the descendants of the Cubans that emigrated to the USA during the Mariel boatlift.^[1]

History

While there already was -largely successful- Cuban emigration to the USA before the 1980s, the third and most well-known wave of Cuban emigration was in 1980. The Cuban government permitted some 125,000 Cubans to board a decrepit fleet of boats in Mariel Harbor. However, estimates assert that this last wave of Cuban refugees included some 2,700 hardened criminals (fewer than 3% of the total).^[2]

Membership

Marielito crime gangs consist of generally male Cubans. Many of the original Marielitos have specific tattoos, displaying patron saints, names, words or arcane symbols. Marielito gang members, White as well as Afro-Cubans, are members of Afro Cuban religious cults engaged in religious rituals often resulting in self-inflicted bodily scars.^[1] While the original Marielito gang members came to the US in the 1980s, younger Cuban-Americans living in impoverished neighborhoods may imitate the rituals of the original Marielito criminals.

Activities

Marielito crime groups are mostly involved in drug trafficking and contract killing, although prostitution, extortion, robbery, burglary, auto theft, counterfeiting and bookmaking are also activities of choice.^[1] In some cases they have aligned themselves with American Mafia families and Colombian cartels to set up drug pipelines and working for them as enforcers. Marielito gang activity isn't as endemic as it was in the 80's, but Marielito gangs are still active in Los Angeles, Washington and New York City (especially the South Bronx).^[2]

References