Latin Syndicate

Latin Syndicate is an American criminal street gang based in Miami, Florida founded by eight friends in the late 1980s. The original leader, Hammer, went to jail for murder in 1990 and was replaced as leader by Level. In 1992, a Latin Syndicate gangster shot and killed a rival from South Beach Posse in a South Beach parking lot. A year later, undercover Miami Police officers were inadvertently caught in a shootout between two gangs — and then undercover ATF agents busted four gangbangers for selling illegal firearms and orchestrating drug rip-offs. A 1997 Miami Herald article about gang violence in Miami-Dade pegged the Syndicate's numbers at 100 and claimed the gang was involved in selling crack in Kendall and North Dade. The violence escalated in 1996, when members of the South Beach Posse conducted two drive-by shootings aimed at knocking off some of Level's Syndicate homeboys. In one incident, at 84th Street and Byron Avenue in Miami Beach, no one was hurt. On another night, on South Beach, the intended target was struck in the shoulder and wrist, but survived. That year, Level claims, he saw at least 25 of his friends go to prison, get seriously injured, or die. Five gang members perished in one week. Two were shot to death. Another one was stabbed. According to his criminal record, Level and fellow Syndicate members wreaked havoc from Leisure City to Miami Beach between 1990 and 1998. During that period, Level was arrested 21 times.^[1] The gang is still active, though more secretive and well hidden from the eyes of the Miami Police Department.

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