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Jeffrey Morris is a researcher and freelance writer with a passion for history and rarities. Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty ImagesAn armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. Los Zetas In April 2019, CJNG killed 14 people in Minatitlan, a Zetas territory. WebLos Zetas have also carried out multiple massacres and attacks on civilians and rival cartels, such as: the 2010 San Fernando massacre (24 August), where 72 migrants were found Former Los Zetas worker: I was forced to witness brutal killings However, despite its success in cocaine and methamphetamine, La Familia Michoacana's power was curtailed by yet another splinter group, The Knights Templar. [9] Local police rounded up migrants traveling by bus and handed them over to the gang. With nearly all of the bodies lacking identification, authorities transported them to the Matamoros morgue for family members to hopefully identify. !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Former Zetas members testified Tuesday, claiming the cartel is responsible for a bloody massacre in Piedras Negras in 2011. WebLos Zetas is a powerful Mexican drug cartel that has made special use of fear to achieve its business goals. You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. He also won territory from the Tijuana and Juarez cartels during the Mexican government's war on drugs, which brought new levels of violence to the region (via Britannica). Abstract. Rather than prioritizing corruption like its competitors, Los Zetas has The way in which the killers carried They recovered deleted material, which included death threats from the defendant and information regarding Zetas operations. He has been in detention since his arrest in Texas in 2015. Initially formed by about 30 former members of an elite Mexican army unit, the gang used fear and intimidation to conduct business in defiance of government operations. In the same month, heavily armed gunmen fired upon Omar Garcia Harfuch, Mexico City's public security secretary, injuring him and killing two bodyguards and a passerby (via Insight Crime). The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. WebOn behalf of Los Zetas." These types of brutal dealings by Los Zetas originally a bodyguard group for another cartel upset the status quo. Colombian National Police/Wikimedia Commons, ShareAlike 4.0 International/BaptisteGrandGrand. Los Zetas is a criminal gang that manufactures and smuggles illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana, among others. Victims were piled on top of one another haphazardly before the cartel used a backhoe to cover up their resting place. San Fernando woman Alma Miriam Ruiz holding a photo of her daughter Dalia missing since 2010. the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. Moreover, the extremely violent gang has made connections and collaborated with U.S. gangs all over the country since 2010. Insight Crime and the BBC reported that these splinter groups are suspected to have abducted 43 Ayotzinapa students, which hit international headlines in 2014. Captured: July 15, 2013 Information obtained from authorities points to the victims being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Former governor Humberto Moreira was also singled out by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon has having protected Los Zetas in his state. As the cartel made connections across Mexico and the world, their death toll increased exponentially. This radio communication technology has given them a edge over Mexican law enforcement agencies for years. The 2011 San Fernando Massacre was both disturbing and, tragically, far from a one-off occurrence. Thats bad for the bottom line., Drug cartels have famously eluded capture by the Mexican government as the problem has crossed the border and headed north: 1,000 U.S cities reported the presence of a Mexican cartel in 2010, according to this graphic by the National Post. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, William R. Long dubbed the Cali cartel as "Colombia's Gentlemen Cocaine Traffickers." Families across Mexico reported that relatives had disappeared after boarding passenger buses bound for the Texas-Mexico border. Arson investigation underway after cars catch fire at west Houston apartment complex, Mother of 15-year-old shot at a house party wants someone held accountable, Houston forecast: Grab your jacket as you head to the rodeo, it's a cool and breezy Friday, Damage reported throughout North Texas area during severe weather. ", The Gulf cartel's control in the northeast state of Tamaulipas has seen many violent incidents, both against rivals and each other. Then, on April 21, 2011, police arrested San Fernandos police chief and got a little closer to the truth. Exposed by a Zetas member under a pseudonym, the details of the bus vanishings remain disputed. He was recruited to Los Zetas, where he rose to commander. You can contact her at [emailprotected]. With countless reports emerging of mayors and cops across Mexico collaborating with the cartels, it appears tragically unsurprising that many who knew the truth were either put into hiding or killed to keep them quiet. Among these provincial traders and smugglers wasJoaqun Guzmn Loera, better known as "El Chapo.". The Los Zetas cartel gunmen even executed the family dog. It operates in more than half of the countrys 32 states. Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberments and other gory executions. Los Zetas Los Zetas had begun to hijack buses along Federal Highway 101. The defendant in this case is Mariano Millan-Vasquez, known to everyone as "Chano." Inside bloody world of Cancuns cartel wars as gangsters behead Worse than any horror film: Inside a Los Zetas cartel kitchen In August 2017, the cartel kidnapped 17 people and kept them in a stash house in Nuevo Laredo. This is because La Familia styled itself as the people's cartel by performing social work and employing civilians, which won both popularity and new recruits. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Earlier in life, he was trained in a Mexican Special Forces unit to fight drug-trafficking organizations. You have to have cartel cred being known as the meanest, most savage criminal organization in the Americas.. This was back when Lazcano and Z-40 were still running the Los Zetas cartel. Zetas "[The government] told me not to go asking questions about my son. Jurors broke down in tears when De Leon described a mother and father being pulled by their hair and forced to watch their 6-year-old daughter dismembered alive before they faced the same, brutal death. CIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamaulipas Gunmen with the Los Zetas cartel butchered close to 20 victims over the weekend, three of those victims were Texas residents who had been visiting relatives. You have to keep up with the Joneses. Few rivals could hope of matching Escobar as his cartel controlled80% of the cocaine trade, which involved daily 15-ton shipments to the United States, as detailed in Escobar'sInsight Crimebiography. However, the Gulf remains entrenched in theirTamaulipas stronghold, which provides steady revenue from narcotics and migrant smuggling (via Insight Crime). [2] It is a fact that some of the cartels initial members were elite Mexican troops who were trained in the early 1990s by Americas 7th Special Forces Group. They were believed to have been killed for refusing to pay a ransom or join the De Leon said that Millan-Vasquez would smile and laugh as he performed these killings. It was around this time that the group established the aforementioned Los Zetas, a paramilitary force that brought a new organized violence to the international drug trade. Their vicious feud affects ordinary people, too, such as Juan Manuel Delgado Crdenas, a 23-year-old student who was murdered for refusing to cook synthetic drugs (via Mexico News Daily). Human smugglers often use buses to transport migrants north to the Texas-Mexico border. Only in 2014 was this dynamic officially exposed in a memo from the Mexico Attorney Generals Office on the 2010 San Fernando Massacre, the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, and the recovery of 49 human torsos in 2012. They kidnapped a local farmers son and demanded $10,000, and when he gave them $5,000 everything he had they sent him half of his son.. He created a company, Tremor Enterprises, to purchase racehorses for American contests, winning millions in prize money through fixing races and doping horses. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo, A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota, Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. People began to disappear, said San Fernando priest Ramon Ruiz. According to information provided to Breitbart Texas by the Tamaulipas government, the children have been identified as Galilea Garcia Amaya, Mariana Garcia Amaya (both from Texas), Maria Pizana Carrizales and Estephania Guadalupe Pizana Carrizales. Los Zetas is the largest drug cartel in Mexico in terms of scale of operations. Shortly after the brutal execution, the CDN faction of the Los Zetas struck once more. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st, The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. Miguel Angel Trevino Morales (aka Comandante 40) At this juncture, it is safe and reasonable to conclude that Los Zetas is one of the biggest headaches of the American people. This article was written by M.A. It was the first time the Attorney Generals Office declassified documents relating to the incidents, and proved authorities not only tolerated cartel activity but assisted it. Then, in May, SinEmbargo reported that the cartel had destroyed a military helicopter with an RPG, killing 5 soldiers. During their enforcer period, theUS Drug Enforcement Agency(DEA) described Los Zetas as perhaps "the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and violent of these paramilitary enforcement groups.". De Leon said that during his captivity, he witnessed Zetas commanders dismember people while they were still alive and throw the body parts into a flaming barrel. Specific forms of torture are discussed as well as the most likely victims and perpetrators. In August 2010, the gang massacred 72 kidnapped migrants at a remote ranch in Instead, they were raped and beaten to death or vanished into a new life as cartel soldiers. They robbed stores, they broke into an auto repair shop and stole cell phones and several vehicles, all with the goal of spreading terror.". She released videos of her beheading the caught zeta members herself. This essay provides an overview of those incidents of torture and beheadings linked to the Mexican cartels and their mercenary and gang affiliates taking place both within Mexico and the United States. More terrifying is their ease of operations in countries like the US. Top 10 Disturbing Facts About Los Zetas - Listverse These cases have highlighted the growing interest of Mexican cartels in influencing politics.[5]. Since 2011, there have been numerous scandals exposing the collusion between politicians and drug cartels. In August 2010, the gang massacred 72 kidnapped migrants at a remote ranch in Northeastern Mexico after they refused to pay a ransom for their release or take jobs as hit men. Graphic from a 2011 NDIC national drug threat assessment. 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels - Listverse In this pivotal year, Zetas occupied territory in 405 Mexican municipalities, which Insight Crime found was more than double that of their biggest rivals. The implication of this is that Los Zetas continues to bolster its criminal operations through nontraditional and unexpected means. Picture taken from a TV screen showing Miguel Angel Trevino Morales by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images. From the mid-1980s to his death in 1993, Pablo Escobar was the "King of Cocaine," earning an estimated $420 million a week, according to Insider. On Tuesday, Rodriguez testified about a bloody massacre involving more than 300 people. However, in the late 1990s/early 2000s, a set of El Milenio lieutenants rebelled and created their own cartel. It was found in Webb County, near the border city of Laredo. If you support this mission, we need your help. Mexico's CJNG Following Officials exhuming the bodies noticed that many bore the marks of blunt trauma. Somewhere near San Fernando, which lies on the interstate to Matamoros, the buses were hijacked, and convoys of armed men snatched passengers. In 2017, the Mexican government extradited Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, a The Horrific True Story Of The 2011 San Fernando Massacre. Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. BBC News De Leon said that he helped Los Zetas stash drugs, transport firearms and deliver marijuana to drug mules along the river to be smuggled to the U.S. Alliances were formed on both sides, with the BLO allying with Los Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel working with the Gulf and Familia Michoacana cartels (via Insight Crime). Founded by the Orejuela brothers, the Cali cartel earned billions a year, inheriting the Medellin cartel's 80% market share and multi-ton shipments to the United States (via Seattle Times/Insider). He said that the Zetas commanders ordered the killings because there was a government informant in the group. The 34-year-old, known as "Chano", was a regional boss in the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras. Los Zetas was described by the US government in 2009 as "the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico". They picked us up and told us we had to work for someone, for Los Zetas, De Leon said in court. The 2010 San Fernando Massacre bore similarities to the June 2011 confession of Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel. But Los Zetas stands out. Much of the cartel's drugs trade depended on theLazaro Cardenas port, an asset that La Familia killed some 1,500 people to protect. Violence committed by the Juarez cartel is rife, especially from its La Linea faction, which has fighting the Sinaloa in Chihuahua City, contributing many deaths to the city's high 2020 murder rate (via FOX59). Islas suspects the kidnappings and brutal murders are a warning to smugglers who havent paid their dues to the Zetas. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. Terrazas said the most corrupt was an elderly police officer and another named scar Jaramillo, who receive money from the organization to collaborate. Most troubling, however, is that The National Security Archive examining this memo stated that all 17 detained police officers had vanished from the public eye. First it was people with money, then it was anyone. Insight Crime catalogued the numerous violent acts of this period, including the cartel's failed assassination of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in 1993, which went awry when the gunmen erroneously targeted the car of a Catholic cardinal, shooting him to death. I know that police and transit officials in San Fernando help the Zetas organization, because rather than take detainees to the Pentgano, which is to say the municipal jail, they would deliver them to the Zetas, said lvaro Alba Terrazas, one of the 17 detained police officials. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. GRAPHIC EXCLUSIVE: Mexican Border State Prison This has led to savage fighting between some 400 splinter gangs, each killing and maiming for scraps of territory (via Business Insider). Brutal Mexican Zetas cartel leader chopped up girl, 6, with an axe It was a solid lead, as cartels were known to take over ranches and convert them into makeshift jails or execution chambers. WebThere is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. However, despite the logistical sophistication and the massive financial success, the history of cartels is fraught with betrayal, splinter groups, and brutally shortened lives. Reyna never heard back from the cartel, so he said that he contacted the Mexican government. [8] Los Zetas has been linked to several other mass murders in Mexico. Cartel: Los Zetas Curiously, no bus line reported their buses or passengers missing. Its origins are traced toEl Milenio, a group that was allied to the Tijuana cartel. Authorities investigating the massacre reported numerous hijackings of passenger buses on Mexican Federal The cartels have now moved beyond drug violence to murdering busloads of civilians, and the government seems incapable of stopping it. Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Some had been killed by sledgehammer. When prosecutors asked De Leon if "Chano" was in the courtroom, the witness stood up and scanned the courtroom for close to three minutes, before pointing at Millan-Vasquez. The criminal indictment claims that the former governor took bribes from drug cartels in exchange for official protection. CJNG's battles with the Los Zetas and CRSL cartels are similarly brutal. After the group's 1985 murder of DEA agentEnrique Camarena, the US and Mexico closed in on the cartel, causing several leaders to disperse across Mexico, leaving El Chapo and his partnerHctor Luis Palma Salazar as the Sinaloa chiefs. He was told to contact someone in Los Zetas to see if they had information. [3] By the end of 2011, Los Zetas had eclipsed the Sinaloa Cartel as the largest operating in Mexico by virtue of their geographic presence. One former member of the cartel told the court Millan-Vasquez had taken part in a 2011 massacre in which up to 300 people were allegedly kidnapped, with many never seen again. Similarly, the U.S. Department of Justicedefines cartels as, "large, highly sophisticated organizations composed of multiple drug trafficking organizations (DTOs)and cells with specific assignments such as drug transportation, security/enforcement, or money laundering.". Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. Reyna discovered that his son's co-worker and girlfriend were also missing. Marciano Millan-Vasquez, who was a member of the 'Los Zetas' organised crime gang, "brutally murdered anyone and everyone as it suited him and his cartel", the prosecuting lawyer said. The Juarez cartel is another relatively old organization dating back to the early 1980s (via Insight Crime). Millan-Vasquez faces multiple charges, including conspiracy to distribute narcotics, enticing minors to sell drugs, giving a false identification to authorities, and charges for at least nine murders in South Texas and Northern Mexico. This wasnt the first time such a tragedy had visited San Fernando. If you dont pay them, they will take your merchandise, he says. Former Los Zetas worker: I was forced to witness brutal killings In the early 1990s, El Chapo steered the Sinaloa Cartel to dominance through his use of tunnel smuggling and widespread bribes. With all this being said, the power and brutality of the gang seem to be waning. Aside from manufacturing illegal drugs and trafficking them, the gang is also into kidnapping and extortion. Then, in December 2015, Insider reported that La Familia founderCarlos Rosales Mendoza was found dead baring torture wounds. Among the first deaths in the conflict was Edgar Guzman, El Chapo's son. Millan-Vasquez was found guilty last July of murder, violence, drug and weapons trafficking, and employing minors in a drug crime a total of 10 counts. To set the records straight, Los Zetas was formed by Mexican ex-military men. Between January 2009 and July 2015, Millan-Vasquez was responsible for the murders of at least 29 people, according to testimony from the trial reported by local broadcaster KSAT. And these lives are often innocent civilians caught up in the dreadful violence and corruption, such as the shootout in Tulum, which killed two tourists and injured three more, according toThe Guardian. [6] Mexican drug cartels are currently operating in 47 countries around the world, including Colombia, Guatemala, and others. He claimed that he was blindfolded, handcuffed, driven to random locations around Piedras Negras, stripped of the blindfold, and forced to kneel and watch these brutal murders. Instead, they became the drug cartel they were supposed to fight. The Mexican military has been trying unsuccessfully for years to dismantle an extensive network of radio antennas built and operated by the Los Zetas drug cartel.