Before we start the show, we should explain exactly what we mean by brutal gangs.
It would be hard to call the Italian or Russian mafia or the Japanese Yakuza a gang, as such
criminal organizations cover many parts of the globe and have done so for generations.
Even gangs such as the “Crips” in the USA, that date back to 1969, have various
offshoots or “sets”, so it’s difficult to talk about the Crips or their longtime
rivals the “Bloods” in terms of one gang.
Today we’ll try and focus on smaller, more local gangs, and discuss the trail of blood
they have left behind.
So, without further ado, welcome to this episode of the Infographics Show, Most Brutal Gangs
in History.
We’ll start with some gangs from a long time ago, and while they may not have huge
body counts to their name, they were met with much fear.
You could even say they’ve been exalted in modern times, having been the focus of
films and TV series – not always accurately we might add.
Another thing we’d like to do is move around the globe in this show, and while Mexican
gangs and white supremacist gangs in the USA alone have been known to be extremely violent
at times, we just can’t include them all.
And as we said, we’re reluctant to use the word gang to describe international crime
syndicates like Mara Salvatrucha (or MS-13), Russian-based Solntsevskaya Bratva, Chinese
Triads, the 18th street, the Hells Angels, or the Aryan Brotherhood.
These are more like global corporations, and so in no way can you compare one faction in
one country to another faction in another country.
They have similar laws and allegiances but are not one gang.
The Peaky Blinders Yep, you’ve likely heard of these Birmingham
boys because you’ve seen the popular show on TV.
They were very much real, but perhaps not as violent as the show depicts.
Said to have been very well-dressed, these angry fops plagued the slums of middle England
from the around the 1890s to the 1930s.
They were called the Peaky Blinders because they would thread razor blades into their
flat caps and use the caps as weapons to slash faces or perhaps blind someone.
While the show depicts them as sometimes decent men just getting by in the slums of England,
it’s thought they were mostly brutal hoodlums that stole land, smuggled goods, offered dubious
protection, and mugged and beat people on the streets when they felt like it.
Five Points Gang The area known as the Five Points in New York
is notorious for gangs, from the Bowery Boys to the Dead Rabbits; names you might remember
from the movie “Gangs of New York”.
These two gangs in themselves were deadly, but what would later come would be much worse.
These were Italian immigrants that formed a crew called the Five Points Gang, although
later their control would be superseded by the criminal syndicate known as the Italian
Mafia.
Prior to that these guys had all kinds of rackets going on, and they were not afraid
to shed blood – far from it.
You may have heard of two of the most famous members of the gang: Al Capone and Lucky Luciano.
Mighty Mongrel Mob This New Zealand gang goes back to the 1960s
and is made up of mostly Māori members.
They are the largest gang in the country, but we cheated a little here because they
are spread out over New Zealand and are not really one single gang.
Often thought of as a peaceful land of wonder where Peter Jackson created the world of Lord
of the Rings, New Zealand actually has a huge number of violent gangs.
But what do the Mighty Mongrels do?
Well, things that gangs generally do: deal in drugs, guns, protection, and kill people.
Gang documentary maker Ross Kemp said some of the Mongrel Mob were good to him when he
visited them, later stating, "I don't think the Mongrel Mob is on a par with MS-13 or
18th Street in El Salvador.”
Bra Boys Ok, so we could have talked about one of Australia’s
many biker gangs such as the Bandidos, but again, that gang is global and wasn’t started
in Australia.
In fact, it’s said the gang works in 22 nations and has 22 chapters.
Why is Australia so tempting for international gangs?
It might have a lot to do with a gram of cocaine going for a whopping $260 U.S. on the streets
in some areas.
Nope, the gangs certainly don’t want that to change nor do they want drugs decriminalized.
But, let’s downscale a little bit.
The Bra Boys are unlike other gangs in that they were formed mainly by surfers in the
beachside area of Maroubra in Sydney.
They’ve been tied to murders, heaven knows how much violence, and of course that lucrative
cocaine trade.
But they’ve also started a clothing label and been involved with community activism.
Ok, they are not the deadliest gang, but they are interesting.
The Richardson Gang England has had many famous gangs.
We might remember the "The Sheffield Gang Wars" or look at how many gangs in Liverpool
fight over the heroin trade there today.
Or all the gangs in the 90s in Manchester, then nicknamed Gun-chester.
But we can’t do this show without talking about one of those London gangs that the British
film industry has been exploiting for years and years.
Who was the worst of those gangs?
That’s impossible to say, but one of the most infamous is certainly the Richardson
gang, started by Charlie and Eddie Richardson in the 1960s in the East End of London.
The sadistic Richardsons had a penchant for torture (they were sometimes called The Torture
Gang), pulling out people’s teeth for fun and cutting off various parts of enemy’s
bodies.
You might even know one of their biggest enemies: The Kray Twins.
Medellin Cartel Despite a large number of guns-for-hire and
strongmen on the payroll, the actual number of cartel members wasn’t very high at all,
so we think we can call them a close gang.
The group was the work of the notorious Pablo Escobar, who brought huge amounts of cocaine
to the USA in the 70s and 80s after he murdered fellow cocaine kingpin Fabio Restrepo.
“Pablo Escobar was responsible for the killing of thousands of people, including politicians,
civil servants, journalists and ordinary citizens,” writes Biography.com, and it’s believed
some of his victims were cut apart with chainsaws.
This dedicated family man and brutal killer had more money than anyone could ever imagine,
but he would die on a rooftop after being gunned down by the Colombian police.
Despite his legacy of torture and murder, 25,000 people showed up to his funeral, calling
him a saint, the man who built houses for the poor, a real Robin Hood of Colombia.
Primeiro Comando da Capital This gang is called the "First Command of
the Capital" in English, and again, while we can’t really call it a proper gang in
that it’s members are all connected, it does seem to only operate inside Brazil, mainly
in São Paulo.
The gang, now with about 20,000 members in Brazil, started off with just a few guys that
met in prison in 1993.
They seem to enjoy attacking, and sometimes killing, police.
But they can also be quite indiscriminate in their murdering.
Los Zetas This Mexican cartel might be breaking the
rules again as it’s not just one gang of people.
But it’s leading members (many of those are now in prison or dead) are a small group,
often hiring mercenaries from the military to do their dirty work.
These soldiers are often not gang members.
So, it’s much more of a closed gang than something like 18th Street, that would give
any thug from the streets membership.
Los Zetas is perhaps the most feared gang, taking over where the Sinaloa Cartel left
a space.
They deal in extreme violence, execution style murders and beheadings, and it’s usually
over the movement of narcotics.
They have police and politicians on their payroll and hold training camps for anyone
desperate enough to become a hired killer or drug trafficker.
Former leader Miguel Trevino was nicknamed "The Stew" (El Guiso), apparently because
he would boil some of his victims alive in hot oil.
Yep, those Mexican gangs are brutal, if not medieval.
Flaying their enemies faces is a hobby of theirs, including the removal of eyes.
Don’t look for that online.
In one instance a man’s face was peeled off, stitched to a football, and then his
head and severed limbs were sent to members of another cartel.
On the football was a note, “Happy New Year, because this will be your last.”
We can’t really top that in terms of brutality.
So, what other gangs are you familiar with?
Let us know all about them in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video called What Happens When You Get Knocked Out?!
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!