Canadian Mounties recruitment ads appear on L.A. gang websites

This has got to be an ominous development. The LA Times has reported the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were forced to pull their recruitment ads after they appeared on Internet sites run by the notorious 18th Street gang, thought to be one of the largest and most violent gangs in the world. According to Wikipedia:

The 18th Street Gang is a Los Angeles-based Latino/Hispanic street gang but the gang also is Asian and Native members. It is considered by many gang analysts to be the largest gang in the United States in terms of membership, and one of the most violent gangs in the world. It is estimated that there are over 20,000 members of 18th Street in Los Angeles County alone.

The 18th Street gang grew out of an older Los Angeles gang, the Clanton Street Gang (after the street that was their home base). In the 1940’s, Clanton Street was changed to 14th Place due to the high number of Zoot Suit Pachucos ‘hanging-out’, as well as the war effort’s need for simple addresses. The Clanton gang was active in Los Angeles for decades and comprised several generations of well-established Mexicans living in America; more recent Mexican immigrants and Chicanos that wanted to join Clanton were rejected. From these rejects the 18th Street gang was born.

The gang has since grown to be California’s largest street gang, with membership in the tens of thousands. Out of the this, it is estimated that about 60% of its members are illegal immigrants, according to a confidential report last year by the state’s Department of Justice. While the majority of the gang’s activities occur in Los Angeles, the gang is active throughout the United States and other countries, including Canada, Peru, Mexico, and El Salvador.

Members of the gang frequently tattoo “18″ or “XV3″ on their bodies (occasionally covering their entire bodies.) The gang is divided into five subsets or ’sides’: North, East, South, West and South Central Los Angeles. Furthermore, each side has its own cliques or mini gangs. 18th Street members often fight several rival gangs, the most notorious of which is the MS-13.