Spanish Cobras
Street gang from Humboldt Park, Chicago, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| Founded | 1970s |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| 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 | Anibal "Tuffy C" Santiago[1] |
| Allies | Folk Nation gangs |
| Rivals | Maniac Latin Disciples, People Nation gangs (including Latin Kings) |
History
The Spanish Cobras were founded in the 1970s by former members of the Maniac Latin Disciples.[2]
In 1989, leaders of the Spanish Cobras, the Maniac Latin Disciples, and the Two Sixers met to establish the Spanish Growth and Development (SGD), a structured organization, in an attempt to control the increasing number of shootings in Chicago.[1] Modeled after the Chicago Outfit, the SGD had a "strict set of rules [and] dispute-mediating mechanisms", though it failed to stop the violence and eventually collapsed.[1]
In February 1996, the escalation of the Insane—Maniac war made headlines in the Chicago Tribune.[3]