Organizations
Every faction, agency, gang and company that operates in San Andreas — the LSPD and federal agencies, the street gangs carving up South Los Santos, the Lost MC out in the desert, Merryweather's private army, the corporate powers pulling strings, and the media outlets reporting it all.
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7 typesLaw Enforcement
The agencies chasing the player around the map — the LSPD inside city limits, the BCSO and LSSD sheriff's departments out in the county, and the NOOSE tactical units that respond at four stars.
Government
The state and federal apparatus — the FIB and rival IAA whose interagency conflict drives much of the plot, the US Army at Fort Zancudo, the LS Coroner's Office and the city government.
Gangs
The 10 criminal factions of San Andreas — the Ballas and Families fighting over South LS, the Vagos in Rancho, the Aztecas, the desert Lost MC, plus the Madrazo cartel and the Cheng Triads.
Corporations
Devin Weston Holdings, Humane Labs and Research, and Richards Majestic Productions — the corporate powers behind the story's big plays.
Media
In-world TV, social media and entertainment companies — Weazel News, the cable network CNT, social platforms Bleeter and Lifeinvader, Vinewood Online and the cult sci-fi series Republican Space Rangers.
Security
The two private security firms operating in the state — Merryweather Security (Don Percival's heavily-armed private army) and Gruppe Sechs, the armoured-truck cash transport contractor.
Religion
The two religious groups Michael can join through Strangers and Freaks missions — the Children of the Mountain pyramid scheme and the Scientology-flavoured Epsilon Program ($30,000 enlightenment fee).
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About San Andreas's Power Structure
Grand Theft Auto V populates San Andreas with a dense web of competing institutions — the kind of interlocking government agencies, corporations, gangs and cults that make the state feel like a working ecosystem rather than a backdrop. Most of the plot's central conflict comes from these organizations crossing wires: the rivalry between the FIB and the IAA, the corporate power play by Devin Weston against the Lifeinvader IPO, and the slow-burn turf war between Trevor's Sandy Shores meth operation and the Cheng Family Triad.
Law enforcement is layered by jurisdiction. Inside Los Santos city limits, the LSPD handles the first three wanted stars before the LSSD sheriff's department escalates. Out in the county the BCSO (Blaine County Sheriff's Office) takes over. At four stars NOOSE tactical units join the chase, and at five stars the US Army rolls out of Fort Zancudo with tanks and attack helicopters.
South Los Santos is carved up between street gangs. The Families (green) and the Ballas (purple) are the central rivalry — Franklin and Lamar both run with the Families. The Vagos control Rancho and El Burro Heights, the Varrios Los Aztecas hold parts of East Los Santos, and Marabunta Grande operates around El Burro. Out in the desert, the Lost MC biker club runs Stab City from their compound near Alamo Sea.
Above the street level, the corporate sphere is dominated by Devin Weston Holdings and Don Percival's Merryweather Security — a privatised army that operates with effective impunity inside the country and serves as the trio's main adversary in the back half of the campaign. Humane Labs handles biological weapons research and is the target of one of the FIB heists.
The media layer is its own running joke — the right-wing Weazel News covers every player rampage with breathless outrage, the social network Lifeinvader (assassinated in mission by Michael) parodies Facebook, Bleeter parodies Twitter, and Republican Space Rangers is the in-world cartoon Trevor and others can watch on TV in their safehouses. Two cults round out the picture — the Epsilon Program (a thinly-veiled Scientology parody) and the Children of the Mountain pyramid scheme, both joinable through Strangers and Freaks missions.