Cholos, Gangs Are Serious Business

So, gang members are really concerned about their economic prosperity, more so than beating up rivals — at least that’s what this Funny Or Die video shows us. And, in a way, it’s kind of true. Here’s a sample of the video: The gang leader calls himself the “chief executive officer,” then notes he was quoted in The Wall Street Journal before asking a wannabe gang member “Can I get you a mineral water?” Later on, his “director of human resources” tells him their quarterly numbers just went up.

Although there’s a whole culture of cholos, what I think this video aptly points out is that, behind the drive-bys and violence, there are business people. The MS-13 and drug cartels are, after all, dealing drugs and smuggling immigrants — which means probably millions of dollars in profit. Remember how Wachovia was found to have been laundering all kinds of drug money? If we think about gangs as just criminals, it could be that we’re missing the bigger picture — or you could just watch this video because it’s funny.

Thanks to Rick for the tip!

[Editor’s Note: There IS profanity in this video.]

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD