‘Barrio 18’: The violent history of LA’s most notorious gang

18th Street or “Barrio 18,” is one of the most notorious and violent gangs in the Western Hemisphere.

The group started back in the 1960s after Clanton 14, one of the oldest Hispanic gangs in the city, rejected the idea of being more inclusive and accepting any members who weren’t Mexican.

To retaliate, the younger Mexican-Americans formed 18th Street and started recruiting from other nationalities to create one of the first multiracial gangs.

Today, the street gang operates as loosely organized cells, or “cliques,” according to the Department of National Intelligence, often reporting to a leader who oversees activity in a certain region.

The gang gained prominence during the 1992 LA riots, when rival gangs teamed up against the LAPD after the acquittal of four white officers who were charged with severely beating Rodney King, an African-American man.

Most recently, as The California Post reported, history repeated itself — as an alliance between the city’s most infamous gangs grew in order to make money.

MS-13 and 18th Street — once sworn enemies — set aside differences and decades of violence to form a “super gang,” cashing in on drugs, extortion, and a booming underground casino trade that now rivals narcotics for profitability.

18th Street works as a transnational organization, building its criminal empire around drug trafficking, human smuggling, and intimidation through violence — including murder.

To move up in the ranks, members must commit heinous crimes that further the gang’s interests, according to the Department of Justice. 18th Street often targets rival gangs, their own members who violate their rules, and people whom they believe snitched to law enforcement.

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The gang also often extorts street vendors and the homeless, requiring “rent” for residing in their controlled areas — failure to pay can turn into a death sentence.

In 2013, a member of the 18th Street gang was sentenced to life in prison after attempting to kill a street vendor who failed to make a $50 payment. The vendor was shot four times, but miraculously survived; however, a 23-day-old infant sleeping in a nearby stroller was struck and killed, according to federal law enforcement officials.

With upwards of 50,000 members, 18th Street is one of the largest criminal organizations in the world and was officially designated a Foreign terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist in September 2025.