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. Imagine how tragic it would be for such a respected and honored organization to become an evil one like Los Zetas. In 2015, Los Zetas leader Morales was arrested in Mexico City. Human smugglers often use buses to transport migrants north to the Texas-Mexico border. WebOn behalf of Los Zetas." Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. Rival gang MS-13 may have the most terrifying tattoos (see featured image), but Los Zetas wins the prize for violence. The killings could be a warning and a way of depriving the smugglers of their livelihoods. More terrifying is their ease of operations in countries like the US. As the two factions continue their fierce fighting, gunmen from the two groups have taken to social media and banners to deliver threats to each other. Most are extorted and let go or sold into prostitution. However, the Gulf remains entrenched in theirTamaulipas stronghold, which provides steady revenue from narcotics and migrant smuggling (via Insight Crime). The kidnapping and murder of the SEIDO agents resembles the type of actions of another infamous Mexican crime group, the Zetas. 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. Los Zetas is the largest drug cartel in Mexico in terms of scale of operations. A red Blackberry phone belonging to De Leon was examined by computer forensics experts with Homeland Security Investigations. The rest of the video is a gruesome 40 seconds of cold-blooded murder, which caused international controversy recently when it was posted on Facebook. Favors were done under threat of death, while higher-ranking officials were paid off. Information obtained from authorities points to the victims being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Media speculation on the motives for the kidnappings range from the cartels need for new recruits to fight its turf battles to the notion that passengers are being extorted for money. If the lawmakers are puppets to drug cartels, then there is very little hope that the war against the cartels will be won. 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. The chief and 16 of his 25 men were questioned under suspicion of helping the Zetas abduct, kill, and bury the passengers. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics They immediately went to war with the Los Zetas and proudly claimed responsibility for a swathe of mass killings, including the massacre of 15 Mexican cops in a single ambush. The implication of this is that Los Zetas continues to bolster its criminal operations through nontraditional and unexpected means. 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. Then, learn about the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. 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. The gang often kidnaps and holds poor migrants who try to operate outside the system for ransom. 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. If Mexican governors have been indicted as Los Zetas collaborators, then there is a possibility that one day, the criminal organization could produce a governor from its ranks. 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. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. Mexicos National Human Rights Commission estimated that 20,000 migrants were abducted in 2010, alone. Then, on April 21, 2011, police arrested San Fernandos police chief and got a little closer to the truth. She was known for being the crazy white one. It is disheartening to hear that the founding fathers of a criminal organization like Los Zetas received training from US military officers. 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. Among these provincial traders and smugglers wasJoaqun Guzmn Loera, better known as "El Chapo.". 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. The heartless drug lord is claimed to have personally killed 2,000 people, in addition to ordering and supervising thousands of other murders. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. 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 April 6, 2011, effort would eventually yield the largest mass grave ever found in Mexico. One official said, "The valley is the most dangerous region in Colombia in terms of drug violence. 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. 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. At least two jurors broke down in tears as they listened to Jorge De Leon Navarro describe how Los Zetas killed their prisoners. Gary Green and Arthur Brown Jr. are set to be killed next week by the State of Texas. He was told to contact someone in Los Zetas to see if they had information. Extortion, smuggling, torture, possible harvesting of human body parts. 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. De Leon is now cooperating with authorities. In the past year, gunmen from Los Zetas Cartel performed unique retaliatory killings in response to their allys videotaped sexual assault behind bars. To make matters worse, the gang is also into migrant smuggling. At this juncture, it is safe and reasonable to conclude that Los Zetas is one of the biggest headaches of the American people. Since 2011, there have been numerous scandals exposing the collusion between politicians and drug cartels. 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." He has been in detention since his arrest in Texas in 2015. If you support this mission, we need your help. Outlets must also tag the Observer in all social media posts. Exposed by a Zetas member under a pseudonym, the details of the bus vanishings remain disputed. Then come the Zetas, with no background in narcotics, and they start chopping peoples heads off, Grayson said. In August 2010, the gang massacred 72 kidnapped migrants at a remote ranch in Specific forms of torture are discussed as well as the most likely victims and perpetrators. However, despite the logistical sophistication and the massive financial success, the history of cartels is fraught with betrayal, splinter groups, and brutally shortened lives. Yarrington is reported to have allowed the Gulf and Los Zetas cartels to operate in his state without hindrance in return for bribes. He created a company, Tremor Enterprises, to purchase racehorses for American contests, winning millions in prize money through fixing races and doping horses. However, recently, theyve taken their drug manufacturing activities to highly advanced countries like the United States. The rest of the video is a gruesome 40 seconds of cold-blooded murder, which caused international controversy recently when it was posted on Facebook. Three of them are Los Zetas is indeed the worst Mexican drug cartel in history. You can contact her at [emailprotected]. Based in northwest Mexico's Sinaloa state, the Sinaloa Cartel is widely considered to be the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, according to Insight Crime. With the Los Zetas fighting the Gulf Cartel for control of human trafficking networks, police corruption was no surprise. 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. It would occur to many as an unacceptable surprise that Los Zetas recruits members in the United States. On Wednesday morning, prosecutors called Jaime Abascal Reyna to the stand. What should we expect from a heartless criminal organization put together by ex-military men? Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy, Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead, People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad, An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel, Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai, People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California, Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu, A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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. Elizabeth Shell These types of brutal dealings by Los Zetas originally a bodyguard group for another cartel upset the status quo. Captured: Sept. 26, 2012 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). They would rape and kill the women and offer men a macabre choice. De Leon said that Millan-Vasquez would smile and laugh as he performed these killings. Besides carrying $2 million in cash and eight guns, Trevino Morales, the alleged kingpin of the feared cartel Los Zetas, was wanted for a spate of crimes in the U.S. and Mexico, ranging from the mundane to the horrific. 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. Somewhere near San Fernando, which lies on the interstate to Matamoros, the buses were hijacked, and convoys of armed men snatched passengers. WebLos Zetas, originally founded by Mexican special forces deserters, some with US training, started as the enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel, a crime group from northeastern Please notify us by email that the article will be republished at, Abbott Wants to Deny Undocumented Kids a Public Education, Border Security Is a Financial Black Hole that Will Consume Us All, Two Executions, Many Questions about Mental Health, Innocence, Remembering a Social Justice Lawyer Extraordinaire. 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. 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. The macabre bloodsport was detailed in The Houston Chronicle. Los Zetas is a criminal gang that manufactures and smuggles illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana, among others. Then, in May, SinEmbargo reported that the cartel had destroyed a military helicopter with an RPG, killing 5 soldiers. Breitbart Texas Cartel Chroniclesare published in both English and in their originalSpanish. This wasnt the first time such a tragedy had visited San Fernando. They were the victims of a brutal new evolution in Mexican cartel violence. Thank you. Its origins are traced toEl Milenio, a group that was allied to the Tijuana cartel. In August 2010, Zetas executed 72 migrants in Tamaulipas, which was followed by 2011 attacks in San Fernando and a Monterrey casino, killing a combined 245 people. The FBI and the IRS eventually built a case against Morales and others, leading to his arrest. // ]]>. 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. Jair Cabrera/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesTributes to the 2011 San Fernando Massacre. Aside from manufacturing illegal drugs and trafficking them, the gang is also into kidnapping and extortion. WebThe 2011 San Fernando massacre, also known as the second massacre of San Fernando, was the mass murder of 193 people by Los Zetas drug cartel at La Joya ranch in the municipality of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico in March 2011. The memo indicated that local police acted as lookouts and helped in the interceptions of persons across all cases. In early April, Mexican military officials made another grisly discovery in the once sleepy farming community of San Fernando: a series of mass graves among the mesquite brush. Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberments and other gory executions. 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. Officials are still counting the dead, but, as of this writing, the bodies numbered nearly 200. 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. The gunmen used a large hammer to break down the door before storming the house shooting indiscriminately at the women and children inside. Islas suspects the kidnappings and brutal murders are a warning to smugglers who havent paid their dues to the Zetas. An armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. 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. 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. 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). 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. The gunmen injured 4 others in the attack. WebLos Zetas is a powerful Mexican drug cartel that has made special use of fear to achieve its business goals. You name it, the Zetas did it.. [1] The deadly organization started out as the enforcement branch of the Mexican Gulf Cartel. Several other executions and attacks during the weekend brought the total number of casualties to 19 and close to 24 wounded by gunfire. Reporter-producer Larisa Epatko contributed to this report. It is practically impossible to list all the atrocities that this extremely violent group has committed. They were forcibly recruited and haven't been paid or fed by their bosses. 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. Breitbart Texas has consulted with relatives and friends of the Garcia family who said the Texas family had traveled to Ciudad Victoria with the children for the summer vacation. 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. Her work has been featured in various national and international media outlets, including the Guardian, PBS, NPR and Marie Claire. The 2011 San Fernando Massacre was both disturbing and, tragically, far from a one-off occurrence. In August 2017, the cartel kidnapped 17 people and kept them in a stash house in Nuevo Laredo. 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). Moraless most preferred method of killing was to stuff victims in oil barrels and set them ablaze. Mexico's largest and most powerful drug gangs are the Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty. The last time Reyna saw his son was Sept. 11, 2011. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. SAN ANTONIO -- A father whose son went missing in 2011 took the stand Wednesday in the federal trial of an alleged war commander for Los Zetas drug cartel. Reyna never heard back from the cartel, so he said that he contacted the Mexican government. Initially, the group was led by Osiel Crdenas Guilln, who recruited around 30 alumni from Mexico's special forces. Navarro from Ciudad Victoria. The Los Zetas cartel gunmen even executed the family dog. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. 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. He was arrested by the Mexican Navy in 2012. 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. In the human smuggling business, migrants pay $100 to $200 upfront, then pay the rest once theyve reached the United States. Border / Cartel ChroniclesBreitbart TexasCartel ChroniclesCartel ViolenceCDNCiudad VictoriaGrupo BravoLos ZetasVieja Escuela. Insight Crime and the BBC reported that these splinter groups are suspected to have abducted 43 Ayotzinapa students, which hit international headlines in 2014. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. This gang violence occurs in their stronghold of Ciudad Jurez, where 1,200 people were murdered in 2018. With population of 60,000, San Fernando is near the Texas border and epitomizes cartel carnage. Then, in December 2015, Insider reported that La Familia founderCarlos Rosales Mendoza was found dead baring torture wounds. 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. But Los Zetas stands out. We rely on the generosity of our readers who believe that this work is important. Los Zetas operates in 17 states, while Sinaloa operates in 16 states. If their relatives do not pay for their release, they may be killed and dumped into mass graves. 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. Los Zetas was formed in 1997 to serve as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel. 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.". 330 76 comments Best Add a Comment ComfortableSoup5 2 yr. ago Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. Mainly, Grayson notes a Zetalisation starting to occur among the other cartels. The office's purpose was to collect debts from Escobar's extensive trafficking network. Cartel: Los Zetas The way in which the killers carried Multiple witnesses have testified that Millan-Vasquez controlled the region of Piedras Negras for Los Zetas and is responsible for hundreds of killings and disappearances. 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. While the Gulf cartel remains a danger to society, their influence has been diminished by Los Zetas, their wayward spawn. With nearly all of the bodies lacking identification, authorities transported them to the Matamoros morgue for family members to hopefully identify. Photo by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images. Groups like Los Zetas have also been known to operate abroad, buying raw materials from Argentina and operating in Asian countries like Malaysia. He said that cartel members kidnapped him again and held him captive for 13 days until he found the money. 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. A significant part of this bloodshed is caused by the Tijuana cartel, which is in constant conflict with the Sinaloa 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 Gradually, the BLO began to weaken in this battle of attrition, losing many members to jail or death. Who knows what is going on in American Samoa. WebTubutama Gun Battle On July 1, 2010, Sinaloa Cartel gunmen clashed with their rivals from the Beltran Leyva and Los Zetas Cartel leaving more than 20 dead near the rural town of Jeffrey Morris is a researcher and freelance writer with a passion for history and rarities. 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. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author.
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