This page lists all the gangs, private militia and other criminal organizations around Southern San Andreas in Grand Theft Auto V.
There are eleven major gangs (including street gangs and drug cartels), four minor gangs, and a criminal organization led by Trevor Philips.
Major Gangs[]
Ballas[]
Balla gangsters.
The Ballas are a large African American street gang. They mainly operate in Davis. They have three sets:
- Original Covenant Ballas (OCB) – A Balla set that controls the western part of Davis, with their hotspots for activity being Grove Street and Covenant Avenue.
- East Side Ballas (ESB) – A Balla set that controls the eastern part of Davis, with they hotspots for activity being Brouge Avenue and Davis Avenue.
- South Rancho Ballas (SRB) – A Balla set based in an unknown part of Los Santos, with their clothes suggesting that their territory is in the southern part of Rancho.
Los Santos Vagos[]
Vago gangsters.
The Los Santos Vagos, also known as LSV or the Vagos, are a large Mexican street gang said to be the largest Hispanic street gang in Los Santos and are rumored to have connections with some major Mafia groups, according to The Underbelly Of Paradise TV program. Vagos are supporters of LS Pounders football team, as they wear different clothes with their logos and a yellow colour to match.
The Vagos control almost the entire neighborhood of Rancho. Jamestown Street and the Rancho Projects in the southern part of Rancho are also particular hotspots for Vagos activity, as well as various backalleys like Cypress Flats. They have three sets:
- North Side Vagos (NSV) – Controls the north side of Rancho. They are probably at war with the Varrios Los Aztecas, due to Northern Rancho being an Azteca territory, too. They sometimes can be seen in the northern part of Jamestown Street and also in the territories of the Original LS set.
- Original LS Vagos (OLSV) – Controls the south side of Rancho. They are probably at war with the Ballas, mainly the South Rancho Ballas set, due to the proximity of the territories. They can be seen in the southern part of Jamestown Street.
- East Side Vagos (ESV) – Controls the Cypress Flats and also the east side of Rancho. They can be seen in the Central Cypress Flats and also in the territories of the other sets.
Varrios Los Aztecas[]
Azteca gangsters in Rancho.
The Varrios Los Aztecas, also known as VLA or simply Aztecas, are a relatively small Mexican street gang in Los Santos, which can be identified by their light teal/turquoise coloured cholo-style clothing. The VLA are in competition with Trevor Philips Enterprises over the weapons trade in Blaine County. After Trevor Philips destroys Ortega's trailer, the VLA decide to take him down. Several VLA members attack the Sandy Shores meth lab, but end up defeated.
Varrios Los Aztecas members can be found in their territory east of Central Los Santos Hospital around Northern Rancho, and on Blaine County, with their headquarters being the Alamo Sea area.
Marabunta Grande[]
Marabunta Grande gangsters.
The Marabunta Grande is a Salvadoran street gang involved in drug trafficking rivals of the Mexican gang Varrios Los Aztecas over the drug trade, drug trafficking and arms trafficking in Blaine County. They can be identified by their full-face tattoos and bandannas on their heads, faces necks and wrists. Marabunta Grande members can be found in their territory of East Los Santos specifically El Burro Heights, and have another set in Vespucci Beach.
The Marabunta Grande appears for the first time during the mission Father/Son, where Jimmy De Santa tries to impress Michael by selling his boat to them. They, however, decide to steal it with a truck, with Jimmy still onboard.
The Families[]
Families gangsters.
The The Families (HD Universe) are a large African American street gang based around the areas of South Los Santos. They have territory in the whole of Chamberlain Hills and Strawberry neighborhoods, and also some parts of Davis. They hold a bitter rivalry with the neighboring Ballas gang and the Los Santos Vagos gang on the southeast side in Rancho. Their signature green attire mainly comes from the support of the colours of the Los Santos Corkers Baseball Team and the Feud Baseball Team. Their sets are:
- Chamberlain Gangster Families (CGF) – Their largest set, consisting of the entire Chamberlain Hills neighborhood. They are also referred to as "The Hills" or "Killer Hills". They hang around the Crystal Heights project buildings. They normally wear black, white, or green track jackets with the Feud or Corkers logo in front as well as green, white or black caps.
- Forum Drive Families (FDF) – More commonly referred to as the "Forum Gangsters" are the secondary set of the Chamberlain Gangster Families, founded by Franklin Clinton and Lamar Davis shortly before the events of the game.
- Carson Avenue Families (CAF) – Hostile to the Chamberlain Gangsters and presumably other sets. Their territory consists of the Strawberry section of Carson Avenue though they sometimes appear in Chamberlain Hills. Members of this set often sport varsity jacket attire with the letter "C" for Chamberlain, which also stands for "Corkers", the baseball team supported by the gang.
- Davis Neighborhood Families (DNF) – Their territory consists of the northwest part of Davis. They currently are at war with the East Side Ballas set, due to proximity of the territories. They are known as "Dirty Davis Devils" or "Davis Devils". They can often be seen around Chamberlain Set territories (mainly Forum Drive) and sometimes on south and northwest of Davis.
Madrazo Cartel[]
Madrazo Cartel gunmen.
The Madrazo Cartel is a Mexican-American drug cartel operated by Martin Madrazo. The gang muscle is mainly made up of young Hispanic men of Guatemalan origin. Gang muscle are seen wearing distinctive Flying Bravo polo shirts of varying colors and designs, usually with numbers on the sleeves.
The cartel members at Martin Madrazo's house La Fuente Blanca will not be immediately hostile to the player unless the player stays in their vicinity too long. Verbal warnings will be given before any aggressive response is encountered.
Armenian Mob[]
Armenian mob members.
The Armenian Mob is a criminal group operating on scrapyards and construction sites. Not much is known about them. They can easily be identified with their brown leather jackets, dress suits, gold chains and thick accents.
Simeon Yetarian presumably has connections with them, as they provide him protection, as seen in his random encounter.
Kkangpae[]
Kkangpae mobsters.
The Kkangpae, also known as the Korean Mob is a South Korean criminal organization based in Los Santos. They are a small yet very dangerous group of Korean Mobsters as they're involved in a wide range of criminal activities. They can usually be found on Ginger Street in Little Seoul.
The Kkangpae do not play any important role in the story, however, they sometimes attack The Hen House business in Paleto Bay whether it belongs to Michael, Franklin, or Trevor.
Los Santos Triads[]
Los Santos Triad mobsters.
Los Santos Triads, also known as the Wei Cheng Triad, are a large Chinese crime syndicate originated from Yangshan in China. Their most notorious front is the Raven Slaughterhouse in Cypress Flats.
They first meet with Trevor Philips about a business partnership as the Triads seek to expand in Blaine County. However, they end up choosing to do business with the O'Neil brothers due to Trevor's violent and reckless behaviour and the attack of his meth lab at the hands of the Varrios Los Aztecas, in revenge for Trevor's earlier attack. Trevor learns about the partnership after he assaults Tao and forces the translator to reveal their partners, after which Trevor kills most of the O'Neil brothers and destroys their farm as retribution for stealing his contract.
In act of vengeance for assaulting his son and taking out their business partners in Blaine County, Wei Cheng sent some of his men to search for Trevor. By the end of the game, Wei Cheng and some of his Triad bodyguards are killed while leaving the Pacific Bluffs Country Club.
The Lost Motorcycle Club[]
Lost MC Bikers in formation.
The Lost Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle club operating primarily out from both the East and West coasts of the United States, as well as the Midwest. They own a club hideout in Stab City, known as The Range. The Lost also own a safehouse/front in Grapeseed. The Lost's primary businesses in Blaine County became the illegal distribution of firearms and drugs. This caused tension between them and Trevor Philips Enterprises.
Although The Lost maintain a strong presence in Blaine County, they also happen to be active in the city of Los Santos as well. The Lost are mostly seen around the East Vinewood area, where they patrol in their Gang Burritos and operate a clubhouse near the Vinewood Casino.
Private Military Companies[]
Merryweather Security[]
A Merryweather mercenary.
Merryweather Security Consulting is a private military company and security contractor who appears as a prominent enemy group in several missions. They are led by Don Percival and are dedicated to various military operations. According to their website, Merryweather is shown to be operating around the world.
Merryweather suffers many problematic setbacks at the hands of the game's main protagonists, particularly those of Trevor Philips. By the end of the story, Merryweather's reputation is in shambles after so many catastrophic failures, causing several of their regular clients to drop them from their payroll, including the U.S. government.
Minor Gangs[]
Hippies[]
Hippie gangsters.
The Hippies are inspired by the American subculture of the same name. The Hippies have a fascination with extraterrestrial life as they are seen at alien-related landmarks.
They are found in a trailer park north of RON Alternates Wind Farm, and in Beam Me Up, an art installation located in the hill east of Sandy Shores. They are easily distinguished with sleeveless shirts, or wearing no shirt, bandannas, tattoos on their chest and back, and necklaces. Hippies are normally not aggressive towards the player, in fact they are unarmed and normally run away when the player shows the first sign of aggression.
Rednecks[]
Two Rednecks drinking.
The Rednecks are a loose affiliation of rednecks found much throughout Blaine County. Rather than being one organized gang, they appear to be a collection of rural citizens, with some being apart of criminal factions such as the O'Neil Brothers, Larry Tupper's cronies, and several border patrol groups, among others.
Its members are exclusively white males, and consist of either thin young men or overweight aging men. Most Rednecks have tattoos and show signs of methamphetamine use.
O'Neil Brothers[]
The O'Neil Brothers.
The O'Neil Brothers are a family of inbred, hillbilly, redneck meth dealers in Grapeseed, Blaine County, led by Elwood O'Neil and his brothers. They are familiar with the Varrios Los Aztecas gang, with The Lost MC and with Trevor Philips, a drug and arms dealer also based in Blaine County with his own company, Trevor Philips Enterprises, whom the O'Neil Brothers are rivals with.
After some potential clients, the Los Santos Triads, decide to work with the brothers instead of Trevor due to his violent and reckless behavior. This angers Trevor so much that he attacks O'Neil ranch and singlehandedly kills most of the family, save Elwood, Walton and Wynn, who left before the attack, and destroys their ranch by blowing up the meth lab in the basement. Following this, Trevor starts receiving phone calls from one of the brothers, threatening him with death.
Altruist Cult[]
Altruist cultists.
The Altruist Cult is malevolent religious cult comprised entirely of elderly men from the baby boomer generation that follow Altruism and believe that all other generations after them are the cause of all problems in the world. Their main headquarters is the Altruist Camp, in the Chiliad Mountain State Wilderness. It is a small but functional fortified village with numerous buildings painted with their livery.
They are first mentioned after Nervous Ron, when Ron mentions that a cult is requesting "lost souls" in exchange for cash. It is implied that the cult are cannibals, as Ron says that they "just want them for dinner" and are obsessed with "young blood."
Street Punks[]
Two Street Punk gangsters
The Street Punks is a minor African-American street gang.
Civil Border Patrol[]
Civil Border Patrol
The Civil Border Patrol is a civilian militia that operates in Blaine County and aims to "protect" America from "dangerous" illegal immigrants. The group consists exclusively of two members: Joe, a racist and paranoid southern man who despises immigrants; and Joe's best friend, Josef, a cold, violent Russian immigrant who speaks barely any English.
Criminal Organizations[]
Trevor Philips Enterprises[]
Trevor Philips with Ron and Wade.
Trevor Philips Enterprises is a business run by Trevor Philips which is a company that deals with arms and drug dealing syndicates.The group deals mainly with drugs, although Trevor wants to expand the guns trade by shipping firearms to the drug cartels in Mexico. Even though Trevor calls it an Enterprise or Industry, it's ran mainly by four people: Trevor who is the CEO and muscle, Wade Hebert who provides information and some muscle, Chef who cooks meth and used as muscle occasionally, and Ron Jakowski who works as his operations chief, informant and pilot (although in a rookie level), as well as a "silent contact" hired by Trevor, who have been working for him shortly before the events of the game.