Mostly Central American immigrants, they were traversing the state of Tamaulipas to cross into Texas. Los Zetas is a Mexican drug cartel known for its sophisticated crime machine and brutality. Miguel Angel Trevino Morales (aka Comandante 40) Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican, A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. While police arrested 76 suspects, including senior Los Zeta member Martin El Kilo Estrada, there was no victory there. The military gunned four Zetas members down, before capturing nine others and finding five abducted passengers inside the ranch. This time around, the horrific body count eclipsed all expectations with 193 people rotting in 47 mass graves. You name it, the Zetas did it.. Extortion, smuggling, torture, possible harvesting of human body parts. Authorities expect more violence to ensue in the coming days. However, in the late 1990s/early 2000s, a set of El Milenio lieutenants rebelled and created their own cartel. With the suspects revealing what they had done, excavations began. !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"); Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. 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. [CDATA[ Navarro from Ciudad Victoria. 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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. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. According to World Atlas, Tijuana had the highest homicide rate in the world in 2020, with 138 murder per 100,000 residents. He created a company, Tremor Enterprises, to purchase racehorses for American contests, winning millions in prize money through fixing races and doping horses. Los Zetas had begun to hijack buses along Federal Highway 101. [1] The deadly organization started out as the enforcement branch of the Mexican Gulf Cartel. Following the murder of 72 kidnapped migrants in August 2010, a subsequent investigation revealed that some Mexican policemen assisted the Zetas in committing the slaughter. [8] Los Zetas has been linked to several other mass murders in Mexico. The U.S. State Department issued warnings not to travel to or within Tamaulipas, as a result. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Marciano Millan-Vasquez 'brutally murdered anyone and everyone as it suited him and his cartel', Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. On Aug. 24, 2010, however, Mexican Armed Forces unearthed the bodies of 72 undocumented immigrants who were simply executed. Editors Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. 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. By that point, however, more bodies had surfaced. There have been several arrests of purported Zeta members in the region but no trials. The most dramatic episode of the weekend carnage took place on Saturday morning when gunmen with one faction of the Los Zetas cartel known as the Cartel Del Noreste burst into a home in order to murder four children, five women and two men. The Zetas were involved in 20 different criminal activities, George Grayson, an expert on the Zetas and professor of government at the College of William & Mary, said. Three of them are 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. 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. Most are extorted and let go or sold into prostitution. In 2018, analystParker Asmann dubbed the Sinaloa Cartel "Mexico's top crime group," despite El Chapo's arrest, trial and eventual detention in the United States. The way in which the killers carried It was one of the deadliest attacks ever on Mexican The April 6, 2011, effort would eventually yield the largest mass grave ever found in Mexico. People began to disappear, said San Fernando priest Ramon Ruiz. The following facts also illustrate the reality that an immediate defeat of the drug cartel may be far from feasible. 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). In the early 1990s, El Chapo steered the Sinaloa Cartel to dominance through his use of tunnel smuggling and widespread bribes. Abstract. Somewhere near San Fernando, which lies on the interstate to Matamoros, the buses were hijacked, and convoys of armed men snatched passengers. They were the victims of a brutal new evolution in Mexican cartel violence. Attorney Jeff Blackburn, a crusader for the innocent, fought injustices across Texas in his improbable, utterly original, and often profane life. 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. Their operations in Colombia and Guatemala can be taken for granted because these countries have homegrown drug cartel problems of their own. Former Zetas members testified Tuesday, claiming the cartel is responsible for a bloody massacre in Piedras Negras in 2011. In1997, PBS described the Tijuana drug cartel as "one of the most powerful and aggressive drug trafficking organizations operating from Mexico," adding that it is "undeniably the most violent." "The first time [I was kidnapped], they took me with a group of about seven people. Please check your inbox to confirm. In June 2021, The Independent reportedinfighting between Gulf factions the Metros, the Scorpions and the Cyclonesresulted in 19 deaths, 15 of them innocent civilians. Then, on April 21, 2011, police arrested San Fernandos police chief and got a little closer to the truth. In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. 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? 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. Los Zetas is indeed the worst Mexican drug cartel in history. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. Victims were piled on top of one another haphazardly before the cartel used a backhoe to cover up their resting place. Jalisco New Generation, often referred to as CJNG, is another Mexican cartel that emerged in 2010. Tomas Yarrington, former governor of Tamaulipas, is currently facing multiple drug trafficking and money laundering charges in the United States. Then, learn about the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. Shortly after the brutal execution, the CDN faction of the Los Zetas struck once more. With the Los Zetas fighting the Gulf Cartel for control of human trafficking networks, police corruption was no surprise. If you dont pay them, they will take your merchandise, he says. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/sadist-los-zetas-cartel-set-brutal-standard-in-drug-war, according to this graphic by the National Post, Mexican Marines Kill Drug Lord Known as The Executioner. 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. The killings could be a warning and a way of depriving the smugglers of their livelihoods. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, William R. Long dubbed the Cali cartel as "Colombia's Gentlemen Cocaine Traffickers." Upon his release, he was put in charge of the cartel in Nuevo Laredo but then relocated to Zacatecas and rose through the ranks of Los Zetas. Led by the infamous Pablo Escobar, the Medellin cartel is said to have killed thousands of people, including three Colombian presidential candidates, many judges and over 1,000 police officers (via Biography). With all this being said, the power and brutality of the gang seem to be waning. 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. 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. 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. [6] Mexican drug cartels are currently operating in 47 countries around the world, including Colombia, Guatemala, and others. A significant part of this bloodshed is caused by the Tijuana cartel, which is in constant conflict with the Sinaloa cartel. Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story: This article was originally published by the, Articles cannot be rewritten, edited or changed beyond alignments with house style books. The eventual split between the groups was described by theCongressional Research Serviceas"most violent in the history of organized crime in Mexico. The cartels have now moved beyond drug violence to murdering busloads of civilians, and the government seems incapable of stopping it. The Juarez cartel is another relatively old organization dating back to the early 1980s (via Insight Crime). He said that cartel members kidnapped him again and held him captive for 13 days until he found the money. 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. Families across Mexico reported that relatives had disappeared after boarding passenger buses bound for the Texas-Mexico border. These types of brutal dealings by Los Zetas originally a bodyguard group for another cartel upset the status quo. 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. He claimed that the drugs came from the Zetas "comandantes" or commanders, which included Millan-Vasquez. The CJNG split from the Sinaloa Cartel after the killing of Ignacio Coronel, a capo whose death caused a power vacuum(via Insight Crime). Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless, Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican, A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California, A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho, Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open, Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally, A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. 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. 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. He was told to contact someone in Los Zetas to see if they had information. It is disheartening to hear that the founding fathers of a criminal organization like Los Zetas received training from US military officers. "They did this so I would tell my family if they didn't obtain the money, this would happen to them," he said in court. 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. If you support this mission, we need your help. The group was originally made up of 34 Mexican Special Forces soldiers. 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. The 34-year-old, known as "Chano", was a regional boss in the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras. With population of 60,000, San Fernando is near the Texas border and epitomizes cartel carnage. It had only been a year since the 2010 WebThe Los Zetas used improvised weapons like knives, rocks, and burning mattresses. The Texas Observer is known for its fiercely independent, uncompromising work which we are pleased to provide to the public at no charge in this space. 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. Alberto Islas, a Mexico City security analyst whos advised corporations in Tamaulipas, offers a more plausible and chilling motive for the massacres: Its just business. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. There are a handful of drug cartels in Mexico, most of which run almost like corporations. He said that officers escorted him to remote locations to deliver guns to Millan-Vasquez on more than one occasion. Los Zetass status as the largest drug cartel in Mexico carries additional implications. Groups like Los Zetas have also been known to operate abroad, buying raw materials from Argentina and operating in Asian countries like Malaysia. They ordered the informant be killed along with anyone and everyone associated with him. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty ImagesSan Fernando woman Alma Miriam Ruiz holding a photo of her daughter Dalia missing since 2010. The Horrific True Story Of The 2011 San Fernando Massacre. He frequently supervised killing experiments wherein new recruits were ordered to kill people with a machete or sledgehammer. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. 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. The kidnapping and murder of the SEIDO agents resembles the type of actions of another infamous Mexican crime group, the Zetas. WebIn 2010, the Zetas killed 72 undocumented immigrant workers in the San Fernando massacre. 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. Britannicawriter Richard J. Samuels defines cartels as, "An illicit consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition and control the production and distribution of illegal drugs," adding that cartels are, "extremely well-organized, well-financed, efficient, and ruthless." Officials are still counting the dead, but, as of this writing, the bodies numbered nearly 200. Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. Jair Cabrera/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesTributes to the 2011 San Fernando Massacre. This has led to savage fighting between some 400 splinter gangs, each killing and maiming for scraps of territory (via Business Insider). Cartels have dominated the international drugs trade since the 1980s, earning many billions of dollars and killing tens of thousands of people in Mexico and Colombia alone (via Al Jazeera and Britannica). By the early 1990s, Medellin was the most violent city not just in Colombia but the entire world, and much of that was because of the Medellin cartel's war with the government (via Rapid Transition). The traditional cartels buy off politicians, establish traffic routes for smuggling and make money. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Yarrington is reported to have allowed the Gulf and Los Zetas cartels to operate in his state without hindrance in return for bribes. Based in the western state ofMichoacn, La Familia Michoacana is known for its history of violence as well as its quasi-religious trappings (via Insight Crime). Moraless most preferred method of killing was to stuff victims in oil barrels and set them ablaze. 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. 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. WebIn August 2011, armed men affiliated with the Zetas cartel set fire to a casino in the Mexican city of Monterrey, killing 52 people.
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