What is the history of the Bandidos?

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RED RIVER, N.M. — The notorious Bandidos biker gang was again at the center of a shootout – this time over Memorial Day weekend in the small town of Red River.

Members of the Bandidos biker gang came in droves to the 41st annual Red River Memorial Day Motorcycle Rally. However, it wasn’t long before things took a turn for the worse Saturday afternoon.

Three people died. Two of them were Bandidos and one was a Waterdog. The Bandidos originated in Texas but have a presence in New Mexico.

“Prior to this incident happening, we had gotten some information from Texas DPS. They had been following approximately 400-500 Bandidos from Texas to the New Mexico state line, knowing they were headed here,” New Mexico State Police Chief Tim Johnson said.

A deadly shootout between the Bandidos and the Waterdogs closed Red River.

“All eight individuals have been identified as outlawed motorcycle gang members. The Bandidos and the second one is a group called the Water Dogs,’ Johnson said.

This isn’t the first time they have been involved in a deadly shooting. Back in 2006, authorities arrested and charged five Bandidos with murder after eight people were found with gunshot wounds in cars on a farm in Toronto, Canada.

Nearly ten years later in May of 2015, a shootout between the Bandidos and the Cossacks at a Twin Peaks in Waco, Texas left nine people dead and 18 injured.

New Mexico has also prosecuted several cases against people affiliated with the Bandidos.

In 2017, the FBI busted Bandidos members for drug trafficking. Just this past February, officials arrested members for a 2020 murder in Rio Rancho.