Florencia 13

From Rap Dictionary

The Florencia 13 (aka F13, Florence 13) gang is believed to be the largest single Hispanic gang in Los Angeles County. The F13 gang got its name from the major street, Florence Avenue, which runs east and west, parallel and between Imperial Highway and Firestone Boulevard. The name Florence is pronounced Florencia in Spanish. Florence is also a woman's name, so the gang adopted a 50's "doo-woop" song, "Florence" by the Paragons, as its theme song in its early years. This gang uses the "13" in their name, showing their strong allegiance to the Mexican Mafia prison gang. Many early members of the Mexican Mafia were recruited from the Florencia gang. Florencia 13 has a long history of being involved in drug trafficking in Los Angeles, where they have held a leadership position even in its already drug saturated area. They have been known to deal directly with both major African American drug distributors and Colombian and Mexican drug cartels. Like the other two super Hispanic gangs - 18th Street and the MS-13 - Florencia 13 is now primarily made up of undocumented (illegal) immigrants. They continue to finance themselves primarily through narcotics trafficking, although false document and identification mills are also a large source of income for all three gangs. Authorities believe that the Mexican Mafia has pushed Hispanic gangs (such as the F13) in the South and Central areas of Los Angeles to attack blacks at every opportunity, to take over control of drug trafficking in these areas, and to secure and maintain the Mafia's dominance. Their main rivals include the 38th Street Gang, all Watts Varrios, 18th Street, and the Play Boys Surenos. Their main African American rivals are the East Coast Crips.