Gang conflicts in Wenatchee appear to involve two alliances, also called “cliques” or “clicks,” each in rivalry with the other.

The website NWGangs.com, which chronicles gang associations throughout the Northwest, breaks down the associations as follows:

“Rifamos Matamos Controlamos”

Affiliated gangs: South Side Locos, Columbus Street 13, Barrio Los Padrinos 13

The click’s name translates roughly to “We Fight, We Kill, We Control.”

Barrio Sureño Trece (BST)

Affiliated gangs: Brick City 13 (also called Varrio Ciudad Ladrillo), South Side 18th Street, Colonia Chiques 13, Tiny Locos

“I don’t know the reason why the two groups have divided into rivals,” says NWGangs.com blogger Brad, who asked to be known only by his first name, “but from my understanding it’s been like that for quite a few years.”

“Trece” translates to 13, a signifier number among many Latino gangs. Sometimes rendered in graffiti as “X3,” it indicates the letter M for the Mexican Mafia, a gang network originating in Southern California prisons in the 1950s.

Gangs that trace their roots to Southern California tend to identify themselves as Sureños (Southern).

Source: NWGangs.com