Cudahy vice mayor allegedly calls on gang members to stand up against immigration raids

By Josh Haskell

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    CUDAHY, California (KABC) — The vice mayor of Cudahy is under fire after posting on social media, allegedly calling on gang members to stand up against immigration raids.

A shocking message about the immigration raids was posted on Instagram by the elected official Cynthia Gonzalez, who serves as the vice mayor of the city of Cudahy, located in southeast Los Angeles County. The message isn’t for the federal government. It’s allegedly for the “cholos,” a slang term in the U.S. meaning gang members, in Southern California.

“I wanna know where all the cholos are at in Los Angeles. 18th Street, Florencia. Where’s the leadership at?… Now that your hood is being invaded by the biggest gang there is, there ain’t a peep out of you… Don’t be trying to claim no block, no nothing if you’re not showing up right now trying to help out and organize,” Gonzalez said, according to the video.

The video, which is over one minute long, has since been taken down. The FBI can’t confirm or deny an investigation into Gonzalez’s words, but ABC7 legal analyst Josh Ritter believes the vice mayor’s call to action may have crossed the legal line.

“When you’re dealing with a political leader calling upon criminal street gangs to take action, that takes on a far more sinister meaning and, perhaps, criminal meaning behind it. It is one thing to say local people of the neighborhood stand up for yourselves. It’s another thing to actually call out the names of different criminal street gangs and ask them to protect their neighborhood,” said Ritter.

In a statement, the city of Cudahy told ABC7 that they’re “aware of recent comments made by Vice Mayor Cynthia Gonzalez on social media. The comments made by the Vice Mayor reflect her personal views and do not represent the views or official position of the City of Cudahy.”

“Her talking about gang violence and bringing them to do, you know, stuff like that, I think it’s horrible. We’re already going through ICE deporting people and people, you know, are feeling insensitive about it. Saying that is just kind of sad,” said Danielle Canales, who lives nearby.

ABC7 reached out to Gonzalez, but has not heard back. Last month, UCLA hired Gonzalez to be its new Director of the Principal Leadership Institute. Gonzalez also appeared two weeks ago at Los Angeles City Hall with other L.A. County mayors, including Mayor Bass, to discuss the immigration raids.

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