Zoe Pound
| Founded | 1990 |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Miami, Florida, U.S.[1] |
| Territory | South Florida,[2][3][4] Chicago,[5] Quebec,[6] and the Bahamas[7][8] |
| Ethnicity | Haitian[1] |
| Membership (est.) | 2250[citation needed] |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, robbery, murder, prostitution,[1] and racketeering[4] |
| Allies | Black Mafia Family,[3] Bloods, and Crips[6] |
| Rivals | Sapp Boys,[9] MS-13,[3] and Hells Angels[6] |
Zoe Pound is a criminal street gang based in Miami, Florida founded by Haitian immigrants in 1990.
Etymology
[edit]"Zoe" is an anglicized variant of the word zo, Haitian Creole for "bone", as members were considered "hard to the bone."[10]
The origin of "Pound" is disputed, but the most widespread theory is that it acts as an acronym of "Power Of Unified Negroes (in) Divinity".[9][11]
History
[edit]Zoe Pound was founded in 1990 in response to growing attacks on Haitian Americans, initially acting as a vigilante self-defense group before morphing into a gang by the mid-1990s.[9][10] Throughout its early years, members engaged in piracy, targeting Haitian trawlers throughout the Miami River. Any crew who resisted were often tortured and/or killed.[12][13][14]
In 1999, the Miami-Dade Police Department cracked down on the Boogie Boys and John Does, both at-the-time prominent Miami gangs.[15][16][17] Zoe Pound took advantage of the power vacuum caused by their sudden decline, expanding across Florida and eventually other states.[citation needed] By 2006, their territory had reached Winchester, Virginia.[18]
In 2009, six Zoe Pound leaders were arrested on racketeering and conspiracy charges in Fort Pierce, Florida after Florida Department of Law Enforcement offices convinced several gang members to give testimony for the prosecution.[4]
Three of the perpetrators of the 2018 murder of XXXTentacion were members of ZMF, a faction of Zoe Pound.[19]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Twenty-Two Charged Federally in Evansville Drug Trafficking Case". Federal Bureau of Investigation. 4 February 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- ^ "ICE Operation in South Florida Net 24 Criminal Aliens". Hispanically Speaking News. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
- ^ a b c "Crime Stoppers helps to catch Miami's Little Haiti Zoe Pound member". WPLG. 19 May 2014. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ a b c Greenlee, Will (18 June 2009). "Six alleged leaders of Fort Pierce gang facing charges". TCPalm. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
- ^ DiDonato, Nicole (4 February 2010). "Officers: Drug ring stretched from Miami to Chicago". WFIE. Archived from the original on 26 July 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- ^ a b c Thibault, Eric (30 August 2012). "Parrains floridiens?" [Florida sponsors?]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Bahamas: The Zoe Pound gang, including activities, areas of operation, key members and state response (2013-September 2018) [BHS106154.E]". Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2024 – via ecoi.net.
- ^ Smith-Cartwright, Tanya (15 February 2021). "INSIGHT: 'We're living in a cowboy town and there's nothing anyone can do about it'". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
Back in the day there were high school gangs like the "Syndicate" and the "Raiders". Now there is the Haitian movement Zoe Pound and One Order to name a few.
- ^ a b c "All Hell Breaks Loose". Gangland. Season 3. Episode 12. 4 December 2008. History Channel.
- ^ a b Daddy, Trick; Bailey, Peter (2010). Magic City: Trials of a Native Son. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-4391-4852-5.
- ^ Astre, Kerline (12 July 2000). "Haitian rap group on the rise". The Miami Times. p. 23. Retrieved 14 December 2024 – via Florida Digital Newspaper Library.
- ^ "Zoe Pound Gang: Learn More About Haitian Group Featured On History Channel". HuffPost. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ Royse, David (16 May 1997). "The Land Pirates In Miami, Pirates In Pickup Trucks Board Freighters At Boat Yards, Robbing, Torturing And Kidnapping Sailors For Drugs And Money". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ Gordon, Marcy (16 May 2000). "Tattered Haitian boats taunt U.S. anti-drug agents on Miami River". The Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- ^ Champion, Marsan (31 December 1998). "Cops mount crackdown on killer gang warfare". The Miami Times. p. 1. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via Florida Digital Newspaper Library.
- ^ "John Doe gang members convicted of federal drug, firearm charges". The Florida Star. 30 October 1999. p. A10. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via Florida Digital Newspaper Library.
- ^ Wilson, Catherine (27 March 2000). "11 convicted in drug gang war". The Lakeland Ledger. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- ^ "COCAINE RINGS HIT IN WINCHESTER". Daily Press. Associated Press. 15 September 2006. p. C5. ProQuest 343397080. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via Proquest.
- ^ Aguila, Grethel; Cetoute, Devoun (17 May 2023). "'Marked for death.' Man testified against XXXTentacion's murderers. Now he's off to prison". Miami Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2024.