Prison gang adopts UNM Lobo as symbol

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The gang is called Los Burqueños or the Burqe Boys, and members are using well-known Albuquerque symbols to identify themselves.

The Burqueños started as a New Mexico prison gang where members of different Albuquerque street gangs would band together behind bars.

The goal was to protect each other from rival gangs housed in the same facilities. Now their numbers inside state lockups have increased by 40 percent, and that's in this year alone.

"They try to challenge staff for control of our prisons and control of the inmate population," said Dwayne Santistevan, administrator of the Security Threat Intelligence Unit with the New Mexico Department of Corrections. "They charge other inmates rent, cause assaults and what have you."

He says the Burqueños can be very dangerous, and they are using common city images to brand themselves.

They get tattoos of the city's downtown skyline, the image of the Albuquerque Duke, the Zia sun symbol and even the University of New Mexico Lobo logo.  And they have a special purpose for the Lobo's paw print.

"That paw means something," Santistevan said.  "They had to commit some sort of felonious act or assault to receive those paws," 

The Correction Department believes if the Burqueños numbers are growing behind bars, they' are growing on the streets as well. They want people to be able to recognize the familiar symbols and now relate them to gang activity.

"They're going to be coming to your area," said Santistevan.

Once a Burqueño gang member, or any other gang member is identified within the Correctional Department, guards separate them from other inmates and monitor them more closely to prevent any problems.