[6][7][8] Formed in San Leon, Texas, in 1966, the Bandidos MC is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,500 members[5] and 303 chapters located in 22 countries,[4] making it the second-largest motorcycle club in the world behind the Hells Angels.

[10][11] The Bandidos Motorcycle Club was founded by 36-year-old dockworker Donald Eugene Chambers on March 4, 1966, in San Leon, Texas.

[12] Chambers named the club in honor of the Mexican bandits who lived by their own rules, and he recruited members from biker bars locally in Houston as well as in Corpus Christi, Galveston, and San Antonio.

[13] Under Hodge's leadership, the Bandidos became an international motorcycle club when the first foreign chapter was established in Sydney, Australia in 1983.

The Australian branch was founded by Anthony Mark Spencer, who had previously encountered Bandidos members during a visit to the United States.

[14] Hodge was sentenced to five years in prison in December 1988 for conspiring to bomb homes and automobiles belonging to members of a rival club, and he died of heart disease in 1992.

[17] The third Bandidos international president, James Edward Lang, as well as his successor, Charles Craig Johnston, were each sentenced to ten years' imprisonment on drug charges in November 1998.

[19] The Bandidos embarked on a failed endeavour to establish themselves in Canada after merging with the Montreal-based Rock Machine Motorcycle Club in 2000.

[26] In addition to the "Fat Mexican" and diamond-shaped "1%er" emblems, club members also wear other patches on leather or denim vests – known as "colors".

Members must abide by various by-laws, such as not wearing the club patch while riding in a car or truck, and are required to attend meetings (known as "Church") four times per month.

[36] Another requirement is that Bandidos must follow the philosophy "All members are your brothers and your family", and must "not fear authority and have a general disdain for the rules of society".

Membership fees are required, and are used to cover club expenses, such as funeral costs, and contribute to a legal defense fund.

[35] The club also has Nomad chapters, made up of members not bound by geographical location, which are responsible for security, counterintelligence and internal discipline.

[3] The club has 303 chapters worldwide, located in twenty-two countries in North America, Oceania, Europe and Asia.

[5] The club is concentrated in Texas[39] but extends into Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Washington and Oklahoma.

[58] In recent years the club has also expanded heavily into Spain, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, England and Ireland.

[70][11][71][72] Law enforcement agencies in the United States also identify the Bandidos as one of the "big four" motorcycle gangs, along with the Hells Angels, the Outlaws and the Pagans, and contend that the club is responsible for organized crime activity such as drug dealing, arms trafficking, prostitution, extortion, money laundering and murder.