This paper examines the early precursors of organized criminal subcultures using the U.S.-Mexico border city of El Paso, Texas as a case-study. El Paso is known as the birthplace of the pachuco; the Mexican Americans’ original street-oriented subculture. It formed the basis for the numerous delinquent groups that would emerge there throughout the decades, ultimately producing a binational organized crime syndicate called the Barrio Azteca. This barrio-prison-cartel hybrid is a modern group with deep roots in the street-gang subcultures of the region. The current study shows that its ties to drug gangs in Ciudad Juarez and subsequent federal prosecutions were recent catalysts in its escalation as a unique cross-border entity. The work is informed by archival material, police data, and multi-faceted fieldwork with gang members and police. It illustrates how the El Paso-Juarez metroplex has fostered particular criminological dynamics not seen in any other place in the U.S. to date.

中文翻译：

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埃尔帕索-华雷斯边境的帮派：历史和地理在塑造犯罪亚文化中的作用

本文以德克萨斯州埃尔帕索的美墨边境城市为例，探讨了有组织犯罪亚文化的早期先驱。埃尔帕索被称为帕丘科的发源地；墨西哥裔美国人最初的街头亚文化。它构成了几十年来在那里出现的众多犯罪集团的基础，最终产生了一个名为 Barrio Azteca 的两国有组织犯罪集团。这个巴里奥-监狱-卡特尔混合体是一个现代团体，深深植根于该地区的街头帮派亚文化。目前的研究表明，它与 Ciudad Juarez 的贩毒团伙的联系以及随后的联邦起诉是其作为一个独特的跨境实体升级的近期催化剂。这项工作的依据是档案材料、警察数据以及与帮派成员和警察进行的多方面实地调查。