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Belonging to the Los Ñetas gang means, in part, observing a certain number of rules that are transcribed in the Liderato, the Ñetas' book. These rules are accompanied by trial procedures, the mesas disciplinarias, and a series of sanctions for anyone who transgresses them. Yet, while the Ñetas have elaborated a complex legal order to settle internal conflicts, trials are rarely used. Are Ñetas rules poorly enforced, or ineffective? What is the nature of these rules? Can we speak of Ñetas law? And what use is it, if it is little applied in cases of conflict? This starting point will be the occasion to present a multi-sited ethnography carried out over four years among the Ñetas. I'll be looking back at the history of this gang, which originated in Puerto Rico and spread to the United States, Ecuador and Spain, as well as its internal transformation. By questioning the place of the law within criminal societies, I will show how the work of interpreting these rules enables the Ñetas to develop practices of self-improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]