Overview
- Mossos d'Esquadra say they have identified 34 active violent juvenile groups in Catalonia and estimate about 400–600 core members plus roughly 500 associates.
- Police report that seven gangs — including Barrio 18, Los 300 and Trinitarios — account for about 80% of incidents, with three groups responsible for most episodes.
- Authorities describe the new gangs as more multicultural and loosely organized than the early-2000s bandas latinas, with variable leaders and rapid online coordination that speeds violent clashes.
- Plan Proa centralizes work by the Comisaría General de Información and Investigación Criminal and will combine intelligence analysis, prevention work and targeted street deployments to dismantle networks.
- The push follows a rise in deadly youth violence that included the killing of a 15-year-old in Park de la Pegaso and ongoing investigations into three homicides linked to these groups.