Known Aliases: Asociación Pro Derechos del Confinado, Ñeta, Los Ñetas, Carlos Torres Iriarte Faction
Origin: Oso Blanco (Puerto Rico state penitentiary), Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico — 1970. Founded by Carlos Torres Iriarte ('La Sombra') to combat systemic abuse from prison officials and rival inmate factions (specifically 'Los 27').
Active Regions: Primary AOR: Puerto Rico (island-wide correctional system and street operations), New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida. Secondary AOR: International (Spain, Italy).
Known Alliances: Localized non-aggression pacts with select UBN subsets
Known Rivalries: Los 27 (G-27) — historical Puerto Rican correctional rivals. Latin Kings — prolonged and intense territorial conflict across the Northeastern United States seaboard. MS-13 — localized suburban friction in the Northeast.
Primary Identifiers: Colors: Red, white, and blue (Puerto Rican flag), occasionally black. Symbols: The heart pierced by two crossing flags (Puerto Rican and Ñeta flag), a cross, right hand with crossed index and middle fingers. Numeric codes: 14 (N). Tattoos: Pierced heart with 'Ñeta', crossed index and middle fingers, 'La Sombra' (tribute to founder), '150% Ñeta'. Apparel: Rosary beads displaying Ñeta colors, organized wearing of white clothing on specific memorial dates. Hand signs: Raised right hand with index and middle finger crossed, forming an 'N'.
Executive Summary:
The Ñeta Association originated as a prisoner rights organization within the notoriously violent Oso Blanco penitentiary in Puerto Rico in 1970. Founded by Carlos Torres Iriarte ('La Sombra'), the assembly was initially designed to combat institutional abuses and protect unaligned inmates from the predations of the dominant 'Los 27' prison gang. Following Iriarte's 1981 assassination, the Ñetas coalesced into a highly structured criminal syndicate. Over subsequent decades, migratory patterns facilitated the organization's expansion across the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, morphing from a correctional protection pact into a formalized transnational street enterprise governed by a strict manifesto known as 'Las Normas' (The Rules).
The operational hierarchy mimics a structured civilian organization, utilizing distinct administrative roles including President, Vice President, Secretary, and Disciplinarian. Despite retaining the façade of a cultural and penal-rights advocacy group, Ñeta chapters systematically direct illicit revenue streams. Primary threat vectors include mid-level narcotics trafficking (cocaine, heroin), arms smuggling between the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico, contract homicides, and institutional extortion. The organization operates a lucrative parallel economy within correctional facilities, controlling contraband pipelines and levying taxes ('rentas') on independent illicit operations. Coordinated federal law enforcement interventions—including massive DEA and FBI RICO sweeps—have driven the hierarchy into a heavily decentralized, compartmentalized operational posture.