The Cochise County Cowboys were a loosely organized group of outlaw cowboys in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona Territory in the late 19th century. The term cowboy had only begun to come into wider usage during the 1870s, and in the place and time, Cowboy was synonymous with rustler. Cattle thieves frequently rode across the international border into Mexico and stole cattle from Mexican ranches, which they drove back across the border and sold in the United States. They were one of the first and earliest forms of organized crime syndicates in American history.