i saw you throw your new york i was putting my shirt up. s.o.s. i was watching it. officer rodriguez is an expert on gangs and loves being an expert on gangs. he s fascinated with the political structure, fascinated with how gangsre changing. he s tough but fair. talks to the gang members in a very respectful way. can t stay in population. ever been part of a gang before this? helps them figure out what is the best way for them to make it through the system and make it through the system safely. let get you back in your cell. [ bleep ] upstairs. dozens of identified gang in the bexar county jail, two most dominant and dangerous are the texas mexican mafia and the tango blast, once family, but now enemies the texas mexican mafia started in early 80s and
or jail know to keep secrets. but few are as disciplined about it as the mexican mafia. during our shoot at san antonio s bexar county jail, we did meet some inmates willing to talk. they were in a special protective custody unit for gang members who had had enough. the ex-gang unit was night and day different than any of the active units we had been to. the inmates had a sense of relief that getting out of the gang provided them, and it showed. the ex-gang unit is the only place where those affiliated with warring gangs live together peacefully. but they re fully aware their decisions to leave their gangs carry consequences that could follow them forever. we always tell any ex-member of any major prison gang, your life is in danger. there is somebody out to get you. it is going to happen.
i tell you this, it s nothing personal, you come back this way, for any reason, you ll be in there with them, or if you re successful, not only in your life but in your case, everybody understand? we thank you. coming up chapman is an orchestrator. he calls the shots. a heartless felon leader explains the philosophy on theft. stealing is going behind somebody s back and taken it. taking is going up to you, i m going to get the watch, if you don t give it to me, i m going to beat you and take it. first, the man in the middle of the violent gang conflict inside san antonio s largest jail. the mexican mafia have a very different personality. you can spot them just by talking to them.
orejones to curtail their growth might also be speeding their transformation into a more organized gang like the mexican mafia. unfortunately, by segregating them, we are creating the ground for this gang to become more of a structurized group. we have reports of what are known as checks, the term the orejones created, and the check means you have to prove your heart to stay in the unit. and they re checking every inmate that comes into the unit. you re not going to force somebody to prove their heart unless you re trying to structurize, who is the weaklings, who are the actual members? they re weeding out those that don t belong and this is clearly identifying the factor for a structurized group. and structure, often translates into a more effective criminal organization. but in jail, it s up to the gang investigators to prevent crime before it happens. one thing that really amazed
know, you can sense things when a guy starts acting a little strange, you know he s up to something. victor says, in the 1980s he was one of the first members of the texas mexican mafia. and rose to a high rank in the gang. i had the power to order hits, i had power to do a lot of stuff. i didn t believe in, how can i say this, physical violence, i believed, you know, when it comes to another gang, why not beat them psychologically? why not plan this information? for example, victor says in prison, he was once housed next door to a member of a rival gang. using a method called fishing in which inmates used string to pass items to cell to cell, victor put his plan into place. he would attempt to fish a magazine with a note inside to a nearby mexican mafia member. i would call to my gang brother, two cells down and purposely miss his cell for the magazine to land in the next guy s cell so he could get it, that s what i wanted him to do.