Spanish Cobras
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2011) |
| Founded | unknown |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Years active | 1950s–present |
| Territory | Chicago (North Side and West Side); Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin |
| Ethnicity | Latinos of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent; some Caucasian and African American/Afro-Latino |
| Leader(s) | Richard "King Cobra" Medina (early 1970s–1979. deceased) Anibal "Tuffy C" Santiago (1979–2000's) |
| Allies | Latin Lovers, Insane Folk gangs such as Ashland Vikings, Insane Dragons, O.A.’s, Insane Deuces, C-Notes, Insane Campbell Boys |
| Rivals | MLD's, Imperial Gangsters, MK's, Latin Eagles, WarLords (extinct) and all People Nation gangs such as Latin Kings, Spanish Lords, Vice Lords, Pachucos, GBO's (extinct), Insane Unknown Kings |
The Spanish Cobras is a primarily (but not exclusively) Latino street gang, present in multiple states throughout the Midwestern United States, with a strong presence on the north and west sides of Chicago, Illinois.
History
[edit]Legend has the Spanish Cobras starting as a Puerto Rican youth club called Culebra Loca on the West Side of Chicago in East Garfield Park around 1948. Other sources say they were founded in 1958, in the Bridgeport neighborhood.
We know the Spanish Cobras arrived in Humboldt Park sometime during the early 1960’s at Artesian & Hirsch in the midst of the Puerto Rican migration. They merged with the local Latin Invaders, ran by Wee-Wee aka Godfather, to become the Spanish Cobra Nation.
In 1973 from their headquarters at Maplewood/Campbell & Potomac, led by ambitious teenager Richard “King Cobra” Medina, The Spanish Cobras invade the neighboring Evergreen Hustlers territory to take control of the Evergreen & Washtenaw intersection, absorbing The Hustlers. Then the Cobras expanded to Haddon & Washtenaw. “Caballo-C” opened the deadly Artesian & Potomac (“A-Town”).
In 1976 Medina formed a new faction called Young Spanish Cobras who proved their worth by attacking the Royals and taking over Mozart & Cortland, forever known as “Sin City".
The Spanish Cobras jumped a member of the Latin Kings when they caught him on the wrong side of the Park during the annual Chicago Puerto Rican Parade in June 1977, and stabbed him after the beating. The Kings retaliated later that day, culminating in the two gangs publicly fighting. Chicago Police then shot indiscriminately into the crowd, killing two innocent bystanders, thus igniting the Humboldt Park riot.
In prison 1978, the Spanish Cobras alongside their U.L.O. (United Latino Organization) comrades of Latin Disciples, Imperial Gangsters and Almighty Latin Eagles, joined the Gangster Disciples in the Folks Alliance.
January 1979, King Cobras brother’s, Jaimie and William move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to start a Spanish Cobra section. In February, an Insane Unknown King walking through Cobra’s Hood was warned to never come through again. He brazenly did the following week, and was killed with 18 shots.
The Insane Spanish Cobras made headlines again when the Insane Unknown Kings went looking for payback in April ‘79. A car of Insane Unknowns drove through Cobra’s turf down Hirsch St by Springfield and approached two young men. The IUK’s put brown paper bags with eye holes cut out over their heads and murdered two innocent brothers they wrongly accused of being gang members. The Cobras retaliated the next evening near Levitt & Schiller, pulling up and shooting at three Insane Unknowns hanging out. One IUK ran off, one was shot in his leg and dropped, and “Ruben” Perez was shot in both legs but managed to get up and run to the corner store as the Springfield Cobras gave chase. Before he could enter, the Cobras jumped out of the car and shot him to death.
The Latino community was in an uproar over the back and forth retaliations terrorizing neighborhoods. It was all over the news, dubbed as “The War of the Insanes”, and there was a major public response from Mayor Jane Byrne who ordered increased police sweeps.
Before his murder at the age of 20 in a drive-by shooting during that war, “King Cobra” grew The Spanish Cobra Nation into a powerhouse around the Division & Maplewood area ("The Motherland") at Division & Artesian, Artesian & Potomac and Artesian & LeMoyne. They expanded into West Humboldt Park at Ridgeway & Thomas, and took over the 'hoods of North Ave & Harding, LeMoyne & Springfield, Springfield & Hirsch, and Avers & Hirsch ("Westown Cobras").
In the 1980s, according to criminologist John Haggerdon's book Insane the Chicago Way,
"What began to take shape was the daring plan of gang leaders incarcerated in Statesville—Fernando "Prince Fernie" Zayas from the Maniac Latin Disciples, Anibal "Tuffy C" Santiago from the Insane Spanish Cobras, and David Ayala from the Two Sixers—to create a local Latino Mafia."
Young Spanish Cobra sets opened like wildfire in Logan Square down Central Park Ave at Shakespeare (“Young & Crazy”), Dickens Ave (“Wild Side”), Tripp & Dickens (“The Terror Dome”), Monticello & Cortland (“Murder City”) branched into Lawndale & Cortland (“Cobrasland”)
In the Hermosa neighborhood, The Insane Spanish Cobras attacked the Gaylords and Stoned Freaks so viscously to take over Kilbourn & Fullerton it would now be known as “The Killing Fields". ISC’s opened the notorious Fullerton & Tripp ("No Love City"), Tripp & Wabansia ("The Snake Pit"), Drake & Wolfram ("Diamond City") and the Cobras expanded westward to Cicero & Armitage (“Cicero Assassins”).
Northwest Side, Summer 1989. The Francis & Stave YLO-Cobras attacked the Simon City Royals at Kosciusko Park in a series of bloody fist fights and deadly shootouts, taking control of "Koz Park" in early 1990 and opening Schubert & Avers as a major illegal drug distribution spot.
In response, the Simon City Royals killed a Northside Cobra in 1991. The Lawrence Ave Cobras from Lawndale & Ainsle “LAst” and Argyle attacked the Royals at Jensen Park and waged a violent war, ending with the Cobras controlling the Park, eliminating the Royals and opening Leland & Lawndale in Spring 1992.
Spanish Cobras and Latin Disciples were strong allies from the 1960's to the mid 1990s. In May ‘92 a couple of MLD’s accused a Cobra of selling them bad drugs, so they returned and shot him dead. The angry Cobras retaliated by invading Disciples’ hood and causing a massive riot. Guns blazed up and down Logan Square/Humboldt Park streets for two days, until peace was restored.
In the aftermath, The Spanish Cobras formed the Insane Familia with the YLO-Cz, Insane Dragons, O-Az, Insane Campbell Boys, Harrison Gents and Ashland Vikings. The Cobras flipped the Deuces from People to Folks and they became the Insane Deuces. At the same time, the Maniac Latin Disciples formed the Maniac Family with certain Hispanic gangs. Maniac and Insane nations started fighting over disrespect and drug territory around 1994.
In February 1996, the escalation of the Insane—Maniac war made headlines in the Chicago Tribune.[1] That same year; in retaliation for the murder of a high-ranking member, the West-Town Cobras shot up a Latin Kings wedding, resulting in casualties. The deadly shooting was caught on videotape and local news stations broadcast it across Chicagoland. This increased the pressure on law enforcement to go after the gang.
After a nine-month undercover narcotics investigation, in January 1998 the Chicago Police Department arrested 31 Spanish Cobras in "Operation: Mongoose", including some gang leaders. This resulted in the closure of a section.
In the early 2000’s the Lawndale & Cortland Cobras violently removed MLD’s from North Ave & Lawndale.
When a Spanish Cobra Nation boss was released from prison in 2019 after serving 20 years, he intensified the war on the street to reclaim old turf.
Territory
[edit]The Chicago neighborhoods with the strongest active Insane and YLO Spanish Cobra presence are: Humboldt Park, Hermosa, Logan Square, Belmont-Cragin, Avondale, Albany Park and Kelvyn Park. With a small presence in the McKinley Park area on the south side (34th & Western).[citation needed]
The Spanish Cobra Nation is also found in the Chicago suburbs of Waukegan, Bensenville and Cicero. Police have reported Cobra gang members in the suburbs of Elgin, Wheeling, Mount Prospect and Northlake.
They are known to operate in other parts of Illinois, as well as in Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha in Wisconsin, and in Detroit. They are quite large in Flint, Michigan.[2] Law enforcement has also reported Spanish Cobras in Ohio, Connecticut, Orlando, Ft Myers and South Florida.
References
[edit]- ^ Becker, Robert; Martin, Andrew (November 15, 1996) "Gang Leader Found Guilty of Ordering Rivals' Killings", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- ^ "People v. Gonzalez, 663 NW 2d 499 – Mich: Court of Appeals 2003". Retrieved August 16, 2013.
https://m.chicagoreader.com/chicago/insane-way-john-hagedorn-latino-gangs-sgd/Content?oid=20511448
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-08-29-9608290299-story.html
Further reading
[edit]- Luthern, Ashley (March 11, 2015). "11 with ties to Spanish Cobra gang arrested for armed robbery". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 2, 2015.