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Latin Kings
In:	Chicago,Illinois
By:	Papa Santos
Years active:	1940 - present
Territory:	Chicago,Illinois, most big cities in the USA
Ethnic makeup:	mostly Hispanic
Membership:	10,000-15,000
Criminal activities:	Drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, murder
Rivals:	Folk Nation, Trinitarios,, United Blood Nation, Crips, Dominicans Don't Play, Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Brotherhood, Mara Salvatrucha.

The Latin Kings is a Chicago based street gang consisting of mainly of Latino members. They are part of the People Nation alliance. It began as a social organization for the advancement of the Puerto Rican community in the Chicago area in the 1940s^[1] and has since spread to U.S. cities, throughout Latin America, and into Europe, specifically Spain. ^[2]

By the 1970s, the Latin Kings came to be dominated by individuals engaged in criminal activity, and in particular, narcotics trafficking.

Contents 1 The Chicago Latin King History 2 The New York City Latin Kings History 3 Europe 4 Latin King Identifiers 5 References 6 External links

The first evidence of the Latin Kings was 1961, but became organized on wider scale by 1966. The Latin Kings started in the Humboldt Park section of the North Side in Chicago, Illinois and stood for Puerto Rican Pride and Independence from the United States. Members soon became involved in criminal activities. At the time, the Vice Lords and Gaylords were the Latin Kings' only enemies. Since then, many Latino Gangs started appearing in Chicago and started feuds with the Latin Kings.

Urban gangs, including the Latin Kings, would receive benefits for working and meeting with social workers. These perks included trips, boating, horseback riding, and other activities. The more dangerous the government perceived a gang, the more likely the gang was to receive benefits. The Latin Kings took advantage of these perks by acting "bad" and gaining government sympathy. Today, the government no longer provides perks of any kind to gangs.

In Chicago, the Latin Kings have 25,000 members and are the largest Latino gang in the city. Their symbols include the five point star (which represents their alliance to the People Nation), the Master, Lions, and a five point crown. A perfect example of the Latin Kings' violance (to rival gangs and their own members) can be found in the book My Bloody Life: The Making of Latin King. The book was authored by a former Chicago Latin King. Other information on the Latin Kings can be found on www.chicagogangs.org.

During the 1980s, Felix Millet, Jose Millet and Nelson Millan , three inmates in the Connecticut state prison system, created the Almighty Latin King Nation of Connecticut. The word of Millet and Millan spread through the Connecticut prison system rapidly, and the Latin Kings, also called the Almighty Latin Charter Nation, soon became the largest gang in Connecticut.[citation needed]

In 1986, Luis Felipe, calling himself "King Blood", joined the Latin Kings in Chicago. Felipe was born in Cuba to a prostitute mother; he never knew his father. As a child, Felipe turned to crime early, and landed in Cuban prison in the late 1970s for a murder when he was a teenager. After Fidel Castro allowed unhappy Cubans (including some prisoners) to leave Cuba, Felipe emigrated to Miami and then to Chicago. While in Chicago, Felipe developed an addiction to heroin; that addiction introduced him to the drug-dealing Latin Kings. His dare devil attitude and his early exposure to crime helped him to rise quickly through the King ranks. This drew the Chicago Police Department's attention, and to avoid incarceration, in 1981, Felipe fled to New York, where one year later he was convicted of killing an ex-girlfriend and sent to New York state prison for 9 years. Jan 26th 1986, He formed the Almighty Latin King Nation of New York State at the Collins Correctional Institution. Within a few years, the Latin Kings spread through the New York State Prison system and onto the streets.By the early 1990s, New York City was home to several hundred members, a number which grew into the thousands throughout New York State and New Jersey by the mid-1990s. He used hand written letters to send messages outside of prison. When Felipe wanted to take down some one he wrote it down. He wanted more and more people to be taken down. But later he realized that his writing down came back to haunt him.

Although Felipe was incarcerated, he produced many loyal Latin Kings who, upon release from prison, hit the streets and recruited.[citation needed] These members established chapters throughout New York, New Jersey, and certain areas of Pennsylvania. The Miami, Florida Latin King Chapters also branch from the New York and New Jersey factions from many members moving to South Florida. They are known as "Bloodline" Latin Kings.

Now the street gang is estimated about 5000 members in New York and surrounding areas.

Black and Gold is the color of the gang. Black represents the past, Gold stands for the sign of Sun. "Black and Gold Never Fold. Amor De Rey." is a caption very commonly used.

In August 2006, the Latin Kings were declared a legal association in Catalonia (Spain) under the name "C.A.L.K.Q.C." (Cultural Association of Latin Kings and Queens of Catalonia).^{[citation needed]} However, in the rest of Spain, the Latin Kings are still considered an illegal organization.^{[citation needed]}

City of Chicago Members of the Latin Kings are identified by their black and gold-colored clothing. (They do not wear yellow like New York Latin Kings because they could get confused to be Satan Disciples a Folks Nation gang.) Symbols or Tattoos include Five-Pointed Crown, The Master ( King Character from Deck of Playing Cards), Lions, 5-Point Star. Other abbreviations used are A.L.K.N, L.K.N., A.L.K.Q.N, L.K.,12-11^{[citation needed]}

New York City Members of the Latin Kings are identified by they're mostly Black & Yellow colored clothing, most New York based Kings wear beads as a sign of identification.

1. ^ http://www.gripe4rkids.org/LKhis.html
2. ^ Gang wars shake Spain's Latin quarter

• People Nation Knowledge & Information Including The Latin Kings
• Latino Gangs: The Latin Kings
• Operation Crown - The Political Persecution of the Latin Kings
• HBO Documentary -Latin Kings: A Street Gang Story
• documentary　film　Black　and　GOLD
• Book　The Almighty Latin King and Queen NationStreet Politics and the Transformation of a New York City Gang