Many of the largest gangs and criminal organizations active today began as self-defense or neighborhood defense groups. "The Bloods was initially formed to pro

Many of the largest gangs and criminal organizations active today began as self-defense or neighborhood defense groups. "The Bloods was initially formed to provide members protection from the Crips." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloods https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloods) "Originally, [MS-13] was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-13) "The inmates who formed the Nuestra Familia gang banded together to protect themselves from the Mexican Mafia" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuestra_Familia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuestra_Familia) "The [Los Viagras cartel] began operating as a self-defense force (grupos de autodefensa comunitaria) in 2014." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Viagras https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Viagras)