Cartel and Gang Violence in the U.S.

Two 15‑year‑old members of the Mexican Mafia‑affiliated Westside Wilmas gang from the Los Angeles area pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of attempted murder in aid of racketeering and one count of murder in aid of racketeering after acting as hired hitmen for Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. Prosecutors say the teens twice tried to kill a man in Chula Vista in March 2024, wounding the target and another person, and that under California’s age‑limit law they were chosen because they could not be prosecuted as adults, leading federal authorities to pursue life‑eligible racketeering charges under a provocative‑act murder theory when their adult accomplice was killed in self‑defense.