The Guardia Civil has dismantled the structure of the Latin Kings youth gang in Catalonia, known as “Reino Hispano”. They arrested 32 of its members and are investigating two individuals from the group who were in prison.
The gang operated through several subordinate “chapters” located in different cities in Catalonia. These included Reus (Tarragona), Cubelles, Rubí, Granollers, and Sagrada Familia (Barcelona). The group’s structure was led by two “supreme” leaders who directed, coordinated, and supervised all the criminal activities of the subordinate “chapters”.
“Chapters”
One of these “chapters”, Sagrada Familia, had planned a revenge attack against a rival gang using firearms. This was planned in response to the stabbing of one of its members. Although the attack was not carried out, evidence was found of their intention to cause serious injuries or even deaths.
The illicit activities of the Latin Kings’ “chapters” included scams, drug trafficking, and violent robberies. They followed the guidelines of the gang’s structure under a strict internal code that allowed discipline to be enforced through physical punishment and psychological pressure.
The “chapters” were formed by Kings, full-fledged members, and Phases, of lower rank within the gang. The Phases only obeyed orders from the “chapter” leaders and had no decision-making power. Some of these Phases, including minors, were induced to leave their family environments to commit criminal acts for the benefit of the group and to elevate their power status.
Latin Kings arrests
The investigation lasted a year and a half. It was carried out by Information agents of the Guardia Civil in Tarragona. On April 17th, the arrests and the investigation of two imprisoned individuals took place. Of the 34 individuals involved, 32 are adults and two are minors.
The leader of the organisation was arrested at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport while attempting to board a flight to another country. The operation involved more than 250 agents and 13 home searches, during which machetes, knives, a taser, an air pistol, Latin Kings identification items such as necklaces, clothing, or flags, and various narcotics such as cocaine, hashish, crack, ecstasy, or marijuana were seized.
The detainees are charged with offenses including assault, threats, coercion, homicide, belonging to a criminal organisation, drug trafficking, and scams.
Also read: 15 arrests in Madrid related to the Latin Kings gangs
