Spanish Cobras

The Spanish Cobras is a primarily (but not exclusively) Latino street gang, present in multiple states throughout the Midwestern United States, with a strong presence on the north and west sides of Chicago, Illinois.

Insane Spanish Cobras Nation

Founded	unknown
Founding location	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Years active	1950s–present
Territory	Chicago (North Side and West Side); Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
Ethnicity	Latinos of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent; some Caucasian and African American/Afro-Latino
Leader(s)	Richard "King Cobra" Medina (early 1970s–1979. deceased) Anibal "Tuffy C" Santiago (1979–2000's)
Allies	Latin Lovers, Insane Folk gangs such as Ashland Vikings, Insane Dragons, O.A.’s, Insane Deuces, C-Notes, Insane Campbell Boys
Rivals	MLD's, Imperial Gangsters, MK's, Latin Eagles, WarLords (extinct) and all People Nation gangs such as Latin Kings, Spanish Lords, Vice Lords, Pachucos, GBO's (extinct), Insane Unknown Kings

History

Legend has the Spanish Cobras starting as a Puerto Rican youth club called Culebra Loca on the West Side of Chicago in East Garfield Park around 1948. Other sources say they were founded in 1958, in the Bridgeport neighborhood.

We know the Spanish Cobras arrived in Humboldt Park during the early 1960’s at Artesian & Hirsch in the midst of the Puerto Rican migration. They merged with the local Latin Invaders, ran by Wee-Wee aka Godfather, to become the Spanish Cobra Nation.

In 1973 from their headquarters at Maplewood/Campbell & Potomac, led by ambitious teenager Richard “King Cobra/KC” Medina, The Spanish Cobras invade the neighboring Evergreen Hustlers territory and fight to take control of the Evergreen & Washtenaw intersection, absorbing The Hustlers. Then the Cobras aggressively expanded to Haddon & Washtenaw and flipped the Crazy Ricans. “Caballo-C” opened the deadly Artesian & Potomac (“A-Town”).

In 1976, KC formed a new faction called Young Spanish Cobras who proved their worth by fighting to take over Mozart & Cortland, forever known as “Sin City".

The Spanish Cobras jumped a member of the Latin Kings when they caught him on the wrong side of the Park during the annual Chicago Puerto Rican Parade in June 1977, and stabbed him after the beating. The Kings retaliated later that day, culminating in the two gangs publicly fighting. Chicago Police then shot indiscriminately into the crowd, killing two innocent bystanders, thus igniting the Humboldt Park riot.

The Insane Spanish Cobras made headlines again during their war with the Insane Unknowns in Spring of ‘79. It bagan in February when an Unknown was walking through Cobra’s Hood by Springfield & Hirsch, and was warned to never come through again. The undeterred Insane Unknown brazenly came by the next week, and was shot dead with 18 bullets. In April, the Unknowns went driving around looking for payback and shot two young men they mistook for gangbangers. A 12 year old girl riding her bicycle was shot in the leg, and the Latino community was in an uproar over the murder of two innocent brothers, 19 and 21. The Spanish Cobras responded by infiltrating Unknown’s turf near Leavitt & Schiller the next night and opening fire on three members hanging out. One ran off, one was wounded in the leg and fell to the ground. The third, “Ruben” Perez, was shot in both legs but somehow popped up and made a desperate run for the corner store. The Cobras gave chase and ended up killing Perez at the entrance of the store. The back and forth retaliation over the next few weeks was all over the news, dubbed as “The War of the Insanes”. There was a very public response from Mayor Jane Byrne who ordered increased police sweeps.

Before his murder at the age of 20 in a drive-by shooting during that war, “King Cobra” grew The Spanish Cobra Nation into a powerhouse around the Division & Maplewood area ("The Motherland") at Division & Artesian, Artesian & Potomac and Artesian & LeMoyne. They expanded into West Humboldt Park at Ridgeway & Thomas, and took over the 'hoods of North Ave & Harding, LeMoyne & Springfield, Springfield & Hirsch, and Avers & Hirsch ("Westown Cobras").

In the 1980s, according to criminologist John Haggerdon's book Insane the Chicago Way,

"What began to take shape was the daring plan of gang leaders incarcerated in Statesville—Fernando "Prince Fernie" Zayas from the Maniac Latin Disciples, Anibal "Tuffy C" Santiago from the Insane Spanish Cobras, and David Ayala from the Two Sixers—to create a local Latino Mafia."

Young Cobra sets opened like wildfire down Central Park Ave in Logan Square at Shakespeare St (“Young & Crazy”), Dickens Ave (“Wild Side”), Tripp & Dickens (“The Terror Dome”), Monticello & Cortland (“Murder City”) branched into Lawndale & Cortland (“Cobrasland”)

The Insane Spanish Cobras attacked the Gaylords and Stoned Freaks so viscously to take over Kilbourn & Fullerton it would now be known as “The Killing Fields". ISC’s opened the notorious Fullerton & Tripp ("No Love City"), Tripp & Wabansia ("The Snake Pit"), Drake & Wolfram ("Diamond City") and the Cobras expanded westward to Cicero & Armitage.

Northwest Side, Summer 1989. The Francis & Stave YLO-Cobras attacked the Simon City Royals at Kosciusko Park in a series of bloody fist fights and deadly shootouts, taking control of "Koz Park" in early 1990 and opening Schubert & Avers as a major illegal drug distribution spot.

In response, the Simon City Royals killed a Northside Cobra in 1991. The Lawrence Ave Cobras from Lawndale & Ainsle “LAst” and the Argyle set, attacked the Royals at Jensen Park and waged a violent war. It ended with the Cobras controlling the Park and opening Leland & Lawndale in June 1992.

Spanish Cobras and Latin Disciples were strong allies from the 1960's to the mid 1990s. In May ‘92 a couple of MLD’s accused a Cobra of selling them bad drugs, so they returned and shot him dead. The angry Cobras retaliated by invading Disciples’ hood and causing a massive riot. Guns blazed up and down the streets for two days, until peace was restored.

Maniac and Insane nations started fighting over disrespect and drug territory around 1994.

In February 1996, the escalation of the Insane—Maniac war made headlines in the Chicago Tribune.^[1] That same year; in retaliation for the murder of a high-ranking member, the West-Town Cobras shot up a Latin Kings wedding, resulting in casualties. The deadly shooting was caught on videotape and local news stations broadcast it across Chicagoland. This increased the pressure on law enforcement to go after the gang.

After a nine-month undercover narcotics investigation, in January 1998 the Chicago Police Department arrested 31 Spanish Cobras in "Operation: Mongoose", including some gang leaders. This resulted in the closure of a section.

In the early 2000’s the Lawndale & Cortland Cobras violently removed MLD’s from North Ave & Lawndale.

When a Spanish Cobra Nation boss was released from prison in 2019 after serving 20 years, he intensified the war on the street to reclaim old turf.

Territory

The Chicago neighborhoods with the strongest active Insane and YLO Spanish Cobra presence are: Humboldt Park, Hermosa, Logan Square, Belmont-Cragin, Avondale, Albany Park and Kelvyn Park. With a small presence in the McKinley Park area on the south side (34th & Western).^{[citation needed]}

The Spanish Cobra Nation is also found in the Chicago suburbs of Waukegan, Bensenville and Cicero. Police have reported Cobra gang members in the suburbs of Elgin, Wheeling, Mount Prospect and Northlake.

They are known to operate in other parts of Illinois, as well as in Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha in Wisconsin, and in Detroit. They are quite large in Flint, Michigan.^[2] Law enforcement has also reported Spanish Cobras in Ohio, Connecticut, Orlando, Ft Myers and South Florida.