SAN ANTONIO – When law enforcement has targeted the Texas Mexican Mafia, most of the people they have arrested are men. When there are women, they aren't listed as members. They're associates of the gang. Even in 2015, there are no equal rights for women in the Mexican Mafia.
"(Women) will never be allowed the rights that the men have," said Gabe Morales, an expert on the Mexican Mafia.
Back in the 1990s, the president of the gang, Herb Huerta, gave Diana Diaz a leadership role in the gang. He admired Diaz's admiration for the Aztec culture, often used to symbolize the Mexican Mafia. She was given the name La Princessa. Despite her endorsement by the gang's leader, Diaz wasn't wanted by everyone.
"There is a lot of male members that thought that was a bad idea to give power to a female," Morales said. "They basically rebelled against Herb. There was a movement to impeach him and he survived that."
Other members of the gang who challenged Huerta's leadership weren't so lucky.
There were letters exchanged among members saying the decision to give Diaz a role in the gang was a "grave mistake." It was suggested Huerta ordered anyone challenging the decision to be killed.
A federal indictment said Robert "Beaver" Perez started delivering street justice. People selling drugs for the gang were robbed to collect more money to send to members in prison. More than a dozen people were murdered – five of them at West French Place. They were bound, executed and robbed of their drug money.
"La Princessa ended up leaving the organization and has not been heard of for some time," Morales said.
No other woman has been offered an official leadership position in the gang.
Women aren't given membership, but they do play an active role in the Mexican Mafia's operations.
"They're the ones running the drug operations when the old man or boyfriend gets locked up. They're dong the phone calls for these guys. They're running the letters. They're in communications. They're keeping things running a lot of times," Morales said.
Women also show their loyalty to the gang and its culture.
"You often see a lot of times adelita or la Valentina, which were Mexican generals, female generals in the Mexican Revolution, tattooed on them," Morales said.
Their bond with the male members runs deep.
"It's sad sometimes that you see sometimes these relationships where the females are used and abused by these guys and know that they're in love with them and do anything – even serve time for them, take a hit on a drug seizure – ‘That was my money' or ‘That was my gun and my drugs' and go to prison for some of these guys," Morales said.