South Side Sureños [SSR]

Wikipedia:
LOCATION: The Sureños main stronghold is in Southern California where they originated. There are an estimated 200,000 Sureños in Los Angeles County alone. They have successfully migrated into every major city in every state in the United States, as well as Canada, the US Military, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. One of the main reasons for this migration is due to California's three strikes law. There are unconfirmed reports of their presence in various South American countries as well. Many larger criminal street gangs use the number 13 under the Sureño banner such as the 18th Street gang, Playboys gang, and Mara Salvatrucha. Northern States such as Oregon, Washington and Alaska have seen a substantial increases in street gangs under the Sureño and Norteño banners. Eastern Washington is almost exclusively either a Sureño or Norteño territory with the only exception being Spokane, Washington.
HISTORY:The term "Sureños" means Southerner in Spanish. Even though Sureños were established in 1968, the term was not used until the 1970s as a result of the continued conflict between the Mexican Mafia and Nuestra Familia in California's prison system. As a result of these prison wars, all Hispanic California street gangs align themselves with the Sureño or Norteño movement with very few exceptions such as the Fresno Bulldogs and the Maravilla gangs of East Los Angeles. When a Sureño is asked what being a Sureño means, gang members, without exception, answer, "A Sureño is a foot soldier for the Mexican Mafia.
Criminal Activity:Sureño groups are involved in every aspect of criminal activity from homicides, drug trafficking,kidnapping, and even violent cases of domestic violence against their own girlfriends and family. They are also heavily engaged in human trafficking. There have been many high profile criminal cases involving Sureños in a variety of states. In Washington State there are some Playboy Sureños on trial for shootings at a car show up in Kent Washington in 2011. This case has attracted a lot of media coverage in the state. Sureños are known to be ruthless foot soldiers of the Mexican Mafia fulfilling murder contracts and extensive drug trafficking. Many Sureños aspire to eventually gain membership to the coveted La eMe ranks so they faithfully carry out any orders given to them to prove their loyalty to the cause. Sureños have been known to conduct drive-by shootings on Sheriff's houses, threats on District Attorney and various other elected officials
A picture of SSRx3 graffiti in 2007.