Federal indictments and past killings tied to extortion allegations reveal how crime, fear, and enforcement pressure are affecting one of Los Angeles’ most important Latino commercial corridors.
In September 15, 2007, in a bustling shopping intersection at 6th Street and Burlington Avenue, the Columbia Lil Cycos (CLCS) clique of the 18th Street Gang targeted an outdoor street vendor, Francisco Clemente, who had repeatedly refused to pay a weekly 50 dollar extortion rent to operate on the sidewalk. Juvenal Cardenas Mejia, a gang tax collector, walked up to the crowded sidewalk and explicitly pointed out Clemente to the gang’s designated gunman.
At approximately 9:30 p.m., an 18 year old gang member, Giovanni Macedo, approached the area and opened fire into the crowd. Macedo shot the vendor four times. However, several of his other shots went wild. One stray bullet struck a 3 week old infant who was sleeping uncovered in a stroller directly next to the vendor’s station. The bullet struck the baby in the heart. The child’s mother and another bystander were also wounded in the gunfire. The infant was rushed to California Medical Center but was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.
This is only one example of how this gang has terrorized residents around MacArthur Park. In a recent raid in the area, federal agents arrested dozens of drug traffickers operating in the zone and allegedly linked to this criminal group.
According to agents describing the operation, Mallany Moreno Lopez and her boyfriend Jackson Tarfur allegedly used their residence in the area as a stash house. She also allegedly concealed drug shipments inside local businesses that operated as fronts before delivering them to final distributors.
DEA agents entered and partially destroyed numerous street vendor businesses suspected of being storage sites for the gang or serving as distribution points. Business owners reported that federal agents shattered glass display cases, cut through doors, and damaged merchandise during searches.
Some owners said that while they support removing drug activity, their legal businesses were unfairly affected, leaving them to repair damage despite no involvement in illegal activity.
While some in the community, including nearby business owners such as Langer’s Deli, have called for stronger action against crime, others are protesting the impact on their livelihoods and expressing fear of federal enforcement operations.
Business owners are between a rock and a hard place
Vendors in the area have suffered heavily in recent months due to immigration raids. Fewer customers are coming, many have been forced to shorten their hours, and some have closed entirely. Others have been deported.
This has become the normal situation in the area. While activists and businesses call for a reduction in crime, members of the 18th Street Gang continue to maintain strong control in the zone.
In March, another operation targeted this criminal group.
Twelve alleged members of the 18th Street Gang, known as one of the largest gangs in Los Angeles, were arrested, according to the Department of Justice and the FBI.
Charges against those arrested included the murder of a drug trafficker who allegedly failed to pay extortion fees and drug trafficking in the MacArthur Park area, using tents to blend into homeless encampments and avoid law enforcement detection, according to the Department of Justice statement.
The 18th Street Gang, allegedly controlled the MacArthur Park area in Los Angeles through systematic extortion, demanding taxes or rent payments from street vendors and low level drug dealers in exchange for allowing them to operate. Those who refused to pay reportedly faced violent threats, physical assaults, and in some cases, murder.
Gang members allegedly demanded payments in exchange for not harming vendors or damaging their businesses.
Authorities say the gang turned parts of the area into an open air drug market, using homeless encampments and tents to conceal the distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Investigators reported multiple cases involving attacks and killings tied to individuals who allegedly refused to pay gang taxes.
Prosecutors say the gang relied on intimidation and violence to dominate public spaces surrounding MacArthur Park and the Alvarado corridor.
The gang’s presence has reportedly created an atmosphere of fear and resignation among local business owners, street vendors, and residents living near MacArthur Park.
