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Tango Blast is an extremely unique prison gang. One reason why is its enormous size, it is comprised of over 14,000 members (Valdez, 2019). The prison gang was founded in the state of Texas. Originally, they were related to the Texas Syndicate prison gang (Valdez, 2019). Tango Blast’s relationship to TS was comparable to Sureños’ relationship to the Mexican Mafia. Tango was founded as a means of protection from other prison gangs (Valdez, 2019). This origin is similar to the Nuestra Familia’s founding in the sense that they tried to separate from the power of the Mexican Mafia due to poor treatment (Valdez, 2019). Unlike just about every other prison gang that we have studied, Tango Blast does not have a vertical or horizontal leadership structure. There are three different types of leadership structures in prison gangs, but Tango Blast does not look like any of them. A horizontal leadership structure would look similar to the Mexican Mafia. A vertical structure would be similar to Nuestra Familia, Aryan Brotherhood, Black Guerilla Family, and Barrio Azteca prison gangs. Nazi Low Riders use a hybrid leadership structure (Valdez, 2019). Although there is no formal leadership, there are social rankings within the organization. New members are called the Pepsi generation and older members are called PTB or Puro Tango Blast (Valdez, 2019). The gang is mostly comprised of young adult males. The average member is in their twenties, which differs greatly from prison gangs such as the Mexican Mafia members' average age is in their thirties (Valdez, 2019). One aspect that makes them so large and powerful is that the requirements for joining are very loose. Anyone can join Tango Blast as long as they spend 18 months in prison and members are jumped in just like a street gang (Valdez, 2019). They do not follow “blood in, blood out” like other prison gangs such as the Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia. This means that one does not have to kill to become a member and that one can leave at any time (Valdez, 2019).

The “four horsemen” or otherwise known as the four originating cities of Tango Blast are Houston, Austin, Fort Worth, and Dallas (Valdez, 2019). Members from these areas are known as Tango Blast, compared to members from other cities are just known as Tangos. One reason that makes this gang so dangerous is that they are hidden in public. Members of the Tango Blast gang represent their affiliation through the use of sports gear and zip codes (Valdez, 2019). Citations Valdez, Al. (2019). Prison Gangs Week Two Lectures Valdez, Al. (2019). Prison Gangs Week Three Lectures Valdez, Al. (2019). Prison Gangs Week Four Lectures...