The Barracudas was a Hawaiian criminal organization that came to be one of Honolulu's most powerful criminal syndicates. The gang was founded by Dwight Mendez shortly after he moved to Hawaii, and the gang recruited most of its membership out of Honolulu's homeless population, offering them a chance to make money as the group's muscle. The gang set up the District Five homeless encampment in a derelict building complex, using a network of decommissioned military tunnels under the building as their main base of operations. The gang was forced to become a puppet group for Palekana religious leader Bryce Fairchild lest he use his tremendous political and economic influence to destroy the group, and, in 2023, the group was ordered to track down Fairchild's former disciple Akane Kishida, who was protecting the true Palekana heir Lani Mililani. The gang thus made enemies with Akane's long-lost son Ichiban Kasuga and his party, and Kasuga rescued Lani from Barracuda captivity at District Five before Mendez was eaten by sharks while attempting to pursue the party at sea. Not long after, Fairchild was arrested and deposed as Sage of Palekana, severely weakening the Barracudas.