So how does Morales, who came into power just last year after his predecessor was shot and killed by authorities and his Los Zetas fit into the underworld that is Mexican cartels? Melissa is a 2016-17 Lannan Fellow at The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. Men were beaten, hacked apart, flung from windows, hanged, and decapitated. Not only does Los Zetas control key drug smuggling routes into the United States, but it now controls much of the illicit trade of sneaking migrant workers to the US. [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. Eventually, this group broke away to become a drug cartel of their own, which is now the notorious Los Zetas. The Most Dangerous Cartels To Ever Exist - Grunge.com This gang violence occurs in their stronghold of Ciudad Jurez, where 1,200 people were murdered in 2018. Los Zetas called Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel In June 2021, The Independent reportedinfighting between Gulf factions the Metros, the Scorpions and the Cyclonesresulted in 19 deaths, 15 of them innocent civilians. He said that the Zetas commanders ordered the killings because there was a government informant in the group. Drug lord Miguel Angel Z-40 Trevino Morales was arrested early in the morning Monday on a country dirt road after a Mexican Marine helicopter intercepted the pickup truck he was riding in. Mexican government security spokesman Eduardo Sanchez (C) speaks during a press conference, accompanied by Mexican Navy General Jorge Victor (L) and Mexican Army General Martin Terrones (R) to present details of the military operation in which Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, the alleged drug lord behind the cartel Los Zetas, was arrested. Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. 2021 The Texas Observer. Specific forms of torture are discussed as well as the most likely victims and perpetrators. This time around, the horrific body count eclipsed all expectations with 193 people rotting in 47 mass graves. She released videos of her beheading the caught zeta members herself. Facebook beheading video: Who was Mexico's Jane Doe? - BBC There were only a few bullet casings at the scene, but one sledgehammer and bodies showing blunt trauma to the head. newsletter for analysis you wont find anywhereelse. The video shows four women on their knees in a field, their hands tied behind their backs. WebCIUDAD 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 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). Example video title will go here for this video. Brutal Mexican Zetas cartel leader chopped up girl, 6, with an axe They would rape and kill the women and offer men a macabre choice. 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. During the late '70s and 1980s, the Sinaloa Cartel worked with the Medellin cartel, establishing lucrative cocaine routes to the United States that spanned land, sea and air. In this ghastly murder, the CDN faction appears to have struck first murdering the relatives of a state police officer and a farmers union leader. Cartel: Los Zetas However, despite its success in cocaine and methamphetamine, La Familia Michoacana's power was curtailed by yet another splinter group, The Knights Templar. The handful of passengers lucky enough to be rescued confirmed their captors intended to recruit them. 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels - Listverse WebFrom March 24 to March 29, 2011, the Los Zetas drug cartel viciously slaughtered nearly 200 Central American migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico. The gunmen murdered a young girl by the name of Estefania Martinez Diaz, a woman by the name of Mara Campillo Mata and a man by the name of Miguel Angel Mendoza. 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. Yarrington is reported to have allowed the Gulf and Los Zetas cartels to operate in his state without hindrance in return for bribes. With the Los Zetas fighting the Gulf Cartel for control of human trafficking networks, police corruption was no surprise. Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty ImagesAn armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. At times [he inflicted] the cruellest of pain, forcing relatives to watch their loved ones murdered before he turned his blades on them, said Mr Durbin. Whatever the motivations, the mass killings show just how little control the federal government exerts over Tamaulipas. It was the second time in eight months that the town of 57,000 in the border state of Tamaulipas had been the site of mass graves. He created a company, Tremor Enterprises, to purchase racehorses for American contests, winning millions in prize money through fixing races and doping horses. Victims were piled on top of one another haphazardly before the cartel used a backhoe to cover up their resting place. They told me to stop doing that," Reyna said in court. They were given map reading courses, communications, and standard Special Forces training and instruction on how to use light and heavy weapons, machine guns, and several other automatic weapons. 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). Follow @NewsHourWorld His evil career was so incredibly successful that he made Forbes' billionaire list from 1987 to 1993. Graphic from a 2011 NDIC national drug threat assessment. When it was "[The government] told me not to go asking questions about my son. Zetas They were forcibly recruited and haven't been paid or fed by their bosses. They were believed to have been killed for refusing to pay a ransom or join the Since then, BLO members have either been killed, jailed or defected to new splinter groups, such as the Guerreros Unidos and Los Rojos, which dabble in extortion, kidnapping and lethal violence. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. The witness said that the commanders kidnapped him and his two superiors until they paid what they owed for the seized load of marijuana. In April 2015, the group killed 15 police officers just weeks after killing five federal officers, which involved the use ofmachine guns and grenade launchers. Mexico's largest and most powerful drug gangs are the Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel. At this juncture, it is safe and reasonable to conclude that Los Zetas is one of the biggest headaches of the American people. WARNING GRAPHIC: The Most Brutal Murders Linked to El Chapo Then, in May, SinEmbargo reported that the cartel had destroyed a military helicopter with an RPG, killing 5 soldiers. ", The Gulf cartel's control in the northeast state of Tamaulipas has seen many violent incidents, both against rivals and each other. The memo indicated that local police acted as lookouts and helped in the interceptions of persons across all cases. Not only are groups like Los Zetas interested in influencing politics, but Mexican politicians are equally interested in the dividends of the drug trade. Consequently, several Mexican cities such as Los Cabos, Tijuana, and Acapulco have recorded some of the highest murder rates in the world, according toStatista. Months after the casino attack, 49 decapitated bodies were dumped on a Monterrey highway (via Insight Crime/The World). Their wanton murders leave most civilians in silence. Busloads of people were declared missing in 2011 when their luggage went unclaimed in Reynosa and Matamoros. The fact that Los Zetas and other Mexican gangs sponsor politicians in Mexico is a huge problem. Rodriguez said that when he asked a commander about Reyna's son who disappeared, the commander said for him to stop asking about it, because they just finished "cooking him". The two men who were also gunned down have been identified as Cruz Felipe Pizana Saldivar and Angel Carrizales Amaya. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin, Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. WebIn August 2011, armed men affiliated with the Zetas cartel set fire to a casino in the Mexican city of Monterrey, killing 52 people. The irony of this scenario is that the training they received was supposed to prepare them for counterinsurgency and counter-narcotics operations. Violent drug gangs are waging a bloody war in the tourist haven of Quintana Roo - visited by millions of British and American holidaymakers each year. BBC News Cartel: Los Zetas They ordered the informant be killed along with anyone and everyone associated with him. Outlets must also tag the Observer in all social media posts. The cartel leaders that subsequently took over after Moraless arrest were unable to stay in power for long, either being arrested or gunned down by a rival gang. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes, A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India, The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC, An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution, A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors, State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya, A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic, A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California, Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Earlier in life, he was trained in a Mexican Special Forces unit to fight drug-trafficking organizations. His body was stolen from the funeral home. The following facts also illustrate the reality that an immediate defeat of the drug cartel may be far from feasible. Known for his brutality, one technique he allegedly favored was the guiso, or stew, in which enemies would be placed in 55-gallon drums and burned alive. It had only been a year since the 2010 However, despite their swift and brutal success, Insight Crime reports that Los Zetas has experienced fragmentation since 2012, especially when the Trevino brothers fell out and split the group into rival clans,the Northeast Cartel and the Zetas Old School. Jeffrey Morris is a researcher and freelance writer with a passion for history and rarities. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? !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"); On Tuesday, Rodriguez testified about a bloody massacre involving more than 300 people. Her work has been featured in various national and international media outlets, including the Guardian, PBS, NPR and Marie Claire. There have been several criminal organizations in the world that have perpetrated destructive acts against humanity without any form of military training, either formal or informal. Read more about illegal drugs and those who deal in them on 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels and 15 Notable Drug Traffickers. Miguel Angel Trevino Morales (aka Comandante 40) Among the first deaths in the conflict was Edgar Guzman, El Chapo's son. No one charges under $2,000 these days to get into the United States and [the Zetas] get $400 to $500 for each migrant smuggled through their territory, he says. He said that cartel members kidnapped him again and held him captive for 13 days until he found the money. This article was written by M.A. You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. Partners must notify. It is practically impossible to list all the atrocities that this extremely violent group has committed. GRAPHIC EXCLUSIVE: Mexican Border State Prison While older cartels were more interested in smuggling drugs than anything else, Los Zetas apparently has its sights set on any type of crime that translates into quick and steady cash. These types of brutal dealings by Los Zetas originally a bodyguard group for another cartel upset the status quo. The Juarez cartel's expansionist ambitions have been quelled in recent years, but they retain a strong grasp on their part of the US-Mexico border, which should maintain their threat to the region for some time. Photo by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images. He made a mistake in his greedbelieving he was invincible and untouchable. Los Zetas control a wide swathe of territory ranging from the Texas border to Guatemala. The eventual split between the groups was described by theCongressional Research Serviceas"most violent in the history of organized crime in Mexico. To set the records straight, Los Zetas was formed by Mexican ex-military men. Los Zetas are blamed for last week's brutal killings of the police chief in the southern Mexican city of Veracruz, his wife and four children. The cartel's influence has declined like many of its fragmenting peers, but their power remains strong inCiudad Jurez and the Valle de Jurez, which are key trafficking locations. However, recently, theyve taken their drug manufacturing activities to highly advanced countries like the United States. 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. However, the Gulf remains entrenched in theirTamaulipas stronghold, which provides steady revenue from narcotics and migrant smuggling (via Insight Crime). 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. Then, on April 21, 2011, police arrested San Fernandos police chief and got a little closer to the truth. Promotional materials distributed by your outlet, including all social media work, must include cites for the Observer and our reporter. Cartel: Los Zetas In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. One official said, "The valley is the most dangerous region in Colombia in terms of drug violence. 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. 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. [9] Local police rounded up migrants traveling by bus and handed them over to the gang. He frequently supervised killing experiments wherein new recruits were ordered to kill people with a machete or sledgehammer. You can contact her at [emailprotected]. Former governor Humberto Moreira was also singled out by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon has having protected Los Zetas in his state. The find is indicative of cartel operations in Texas and the United States as a whole. According to reports in the BBC and Insight Crime, the latest cartel trend is the fragmentation of the drug trafficking landscape, especially in Mexico. As Breitbart Texas has been reporting for more than eight months, the Cartel Del Noreste has been at war with the rival faction known as Vieja Escuela Z or Grupo Bravo. When Reyna didn't hear from his son for several days, he started making calls. The import of this for the American people is that no matter what measures the US government takes to destroy the vast network of drug smuggling within the country, the effort may be fruitless, as it is no longer a case of fighting a foreign entity. Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. Led by the Beltran Leyva brothers Marcos Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo, and Hctor, the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO)was a vicious drug cartel in the Mexican state of Sinaloa (via Insight Crime/Wilson Center). Killed: Oct. 7, 2012 Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, has a reputation as a hotbed for drug smuggling and violence. President Felipe Caldern deployed the military against Mexicos cartels in 2007, and despite $1.6 billion in U.S. support, 35,000 civilians were now dead by 2011, with thousands missing. Tamaulipas Lieutenant Governor Morelos Jaime Canseco Gmez admitted police were still looking for another bus of passengers. The cartels brutal murders came to a head under the leadership of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales. SAN ANTONIO, Texas - In San Antonio today, a federal judge sentenced 34-year-old Marciano Millan Vasquez, a high ranking member and a former sicario for the Los Zetas drug cartel, to seven consecutive life imprisonment sentences for committing and aiding and abetting the commission of numerous murders and other acts of violence, Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty ImagesSan Fernando woman Alma Miriam Ruiz holding a photo of her daughter Dalia missing since 2010. Exposed by a Zetas member under a pseudonym, the details of the bus vanishings remain disputed. WebThe Los Zetas used improvised weapons like knives, rocks, and burning mattresses. Authorities had been notified of missing passengers from Highway 101 on May 24 and May 29, with soldiers following a tip that led them to the La Joya ranch a few miles off the road. The fact that Los Zetas was able to grow and nurture $2 million worth of marijuana in Texas is quite distressing. Mainly, Grayson notes a Zetalisation starting to occur among the other cartels. Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. Former Los Zetas worker: I was forced to witness brutal killings Like Los Zetas, their bitter rivals, CJNG is known for terrible violence. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month, Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Today, the cartel retains a small presence in southern Mexico. If a debtor refused, Escobar deployed his team of lethal "sicarios.". 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. 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. In 2015, Los Zetas leader Morales was arrested in Mexico City. 4 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). A rival of the Sinaloa cartel, the Juarez group has been responsible for thousands of murders across its territory, which included 21 states at the height of its power. Please check your inbox to confirm. According to court testimony, from 2007 through 2011, Chavarria oversaw the shipment of enormous quantities of cocaine between Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, and Eagle Pass, Texas on behalf of the Los Zetas Cartel, in which he was a high-ranking member. 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. An armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. Its origins are traced toEl Milenio, a group that was allied to the Tijuana cartel. It was a solid lead, as cartels were known to take over ranches and convert them into makeshift jails or execution chambers. [10] The authorities havent succeeded in shutting down the cartels sophisticated radio communication due to two reasons: The first is that the radio equipment is easy to replace; the second is that the gang relies on free forced labor to build and maintain its radio equipment. The kidnapping and murder of the SEIDO agents resembles the type of actions of another infamous Mexican crime group, the Zetas. Most harrowing of all was the forensic evidence. Groups like Los Zetas have also been known to operate abroad, buying raw materials from Argentina and operating in Asian countries like Malaysia. 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. The women have been identified as Lourdes Gregorio Garcia Amaya from Texas, Raymunda Amaya Contreras, Maria Del Rosario Carrizales Amaya, Griselda Carrizales Amaya and Maria Cirila Contreras Garcia. Colombian National Police/Wikimedia Commons, ShareAlike 4.0 International/BaptisteGrandGrand. In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Gore video - four women dismembered by the gang - xgore WebZetas behead and dismember four women from the Gulf Cartel. 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. In and around Cali if the mafia doesn't like you, you just disappear.". Sadist Los Zetas Cartel Set Brutal Standard in Drug War Trevino Morales became head of the Los Zetas cartel after the death of long-time leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano in October 2012. If you support this mission, we need your help. In 2006, severalLa Familia hit men, who said they had a "divine right" to kill, dumped five severed heads on a dance floor, yet this didn't alienate them in the public eye (via Insider/Insight Crime). FROM brutal beheadings to violent kidnappings, the cartel wars of Cancun have unleashed horror on Mexico's Caribbean coast as gangsters wreak havoc yards away from luxury resorts. The 34-year-old, known as "Chano", was a regional boss in the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras. Los Zetas cartel members and San Fernando Massacre suspects being presented to the press on June 30, 2011. Based in the western state of Jalisco, CJNG was founded by Nemesio Oseguera Ramos, whose ongoing leadership has placed him on Mexican and American most wanted lists, both of which offer millions of dollars for information. The killings could be a warning and a way of depriving the smugglers of their livelihoods. All Rights Reserved. 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. WebMarciano 'Chano' Millan Vasquez, 34, was jailed in San Antonio, Texas, for 29 killings carried out for notorious northern Mexican gang Los Zetas between 2009 and 2015, as well as You name it, the Zetas did it.. As part of the threats, the Vieja Escuela faction has ordered that the relatives of the CDN leadership leave Ciudad Victoria or face a sure death. 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. All rights reserved. Then come the Zetas, with no background in narcotics, and they start chopping peoples heads off, Grayson said. The Horrific True Story Of The 2011 San Fernando Massacre. You cannot underestimate the capabilities of a cartel whose founding fathers were trained by the U.S. military. Perhaps the most heinous La Linea crime occurred in Bavispe, where the group attacked a Mormon family inNovember 2019, killing nine people including several children, according to ABC. [7] As usual, theyve also brought an unprecedented level of violence to the trade. Rather than prioritizing corruption like its competitors, Los Zetas has They recovered deleted material, which included death threats from the defendant and information regarding Zetas operations. WebThe Most Brutal Execution Methods Reportedly Used By Mexican Cartels Beheading By Chainsaw. Torture, beheadings, and narcocultos A red Blackberry phone belonging to De Leon was examined by computer forensics experts with Homeland Security Investigations. They were the victims of a brutal new evolution in Mexican cartel violence. Los Zetas is a Mexican drug cartel known for its sophisticated crime machine and brutality. Picture taken from a TV screen showing Miguel Angel Trevino Morales by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images. Navarro from Ciudad Victoria. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port, A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador, A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk, The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron, Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. The cartel member he spoke with was Jose Luis Rodriguez. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. 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.