They also acted as lookouts for the cartel and turned a blind eye to their illegal activities. All of the Texas Observers articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. Los Zetas control a wide swathe of territory ranging from the Texas border to Guatemala. The Zetas were notorious for their brutality, even by cartel standards. Los Zetas Los Zetas cartel members and San Fernando Massacre suspects being presented to the press on June 30, 2011. That's right the Wight bitch was the bad one and cut off heads with axes with her own hands. 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. 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. [4] The cartel recruits in US prisons and also courts street gang members for its drug trafficking activities in Mexico and the U.S. Unlike some of its fragmenting rivals, CJNG's power is forecast to grow despite government pressure on their front companies and bank accounts. 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 handful of passengers lucky enough to be rescued confirmed their captors intended to recruit them. Most are extorted and let go or sold into prostitution. With the Medellin leader gone, Insider noted how the rival Cali cartel took the reins of Colombia's booming cocaine industry. Whats distressing about the criminal organization is the atrocities they have committed in the past and the potential they possess to increase their scale of operations and perpetuate more horrors in the future. On July 12, 2012, authorities seized over 50 kilograms of marijuana at the Del Rio port of entry. The Los Zetas cartel gunmen even executed the family dog. Victims were piled on top of one another haphazardly before the cartel used a backhoe to cover up their resting place. The 2011 San Fernando Massacre was both disturbing and, tragically, far from a one-off occurrence. 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 Los Zetas is a powerful Mexican drug cartel that has made special use of fear to achieve its business goals. How could such a tragedy occur in San Fernando not once but repeatedly? De Leon said that his mother sold her house for $20,000 to help him, and that the Zetas let him loose with the stipulation that he must pay $100,000 more in one week. His body was stolen from the funeral home. WebThe Los Zetas used improvised weapons like knives, rocks, and burning mattresses. In August 2017, the cartel kidnapped 17 people and kept them in a stash house in Nuevo Laredo. By 2020, the once leading cartel was wounded and facing competition from old rivals and new cartels, such as the Jalisco New General Cartel, often referred to as CJNG. Most harrowing of all was the forensic evidence. Los Zetas' Brutal Business Model Then come the Zetas, with no background in narcotics, and they start chopping peoples heads off, Grayson said. 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. [1] The deadly organization started out as the enforcement branch of the Mexican Gulf Cartel. However, despite these smaller groups' threat to the Guerrero and Morelosstates, the Beltrn-Leyva Organization is merely a trace of its former self. In April 2019, CJNG killed 14 people in Minatitlan, a Zetas territory. With the Los Zetas fighting the Gulf Cartel for control of human trafficking networks, police corruption was no surprise. 2011 San Fernando massacre 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. However, despite the logistical sophistication and the massive financial success, the history of cartels is fraught with betrayal, splinter groups, and brutally shortened lives. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty ImagesSan Fernando woman Alma Miriam Ruiz holding a photo of her daughter Dalia missing since 2010. Mexico's CJNG Following In the human smuggling business, migrants pay $100 to $200 upfront, then pay the rest once theyve reached the United States. 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). 2021 The Texas Observer. He claimed that the drugs came from the Zetas "comandantes" or commanders, which included Millan-Vasquez. There is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. Partners must notify. Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. Several other executions and attacks during the weekend brought the total number of casualties to 19 and close to 24 wounded by gunfire. Former Los Zetas worker: I was forced to witness brutal killings 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). The find is indicative of cartel operations in Texas and the United States as a whole. 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. The Shrinking actor talks mental health, being queer, and why the Lone Star State is the perfect home for his new play Silver Foxes. Today, the cartel retains a small presence in southern Mexico. Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. The cartel can trace its roots to the 1960s and '70s, when farming families entered the marijuana business. With Americans running the organization, winning the war against Los Zetas would be much more difficult. Who knows what is going on in American Samoa. Read more about illegal drugs and those who deal in them on 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels and 15 Notable Drug Traffickers. Some had been killed by sledgehammer. 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. Officials exhuming the bodies noticed that many bore the marks of blunt trauma. Eventually, this group broke away to become a drug cartel of their own, which is now the notorious Los Zetas. The office's purpose was to collect debts from Escobar's extensive trafficking network. The cartel member he spoke with was Jose Luis Rodriguez. The Juarez cartel is another relatively old organization dating back to the early 1980s (via Insight Crime). In 2014, years after the conviction of the Orejuela brothers, the US government declared that the Cali cartel was no longer a threat, lifting sanctions that had been imposed by the Clinton administration in 1995 (via ABC news/Insight Crime). Abstract. 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 The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. The violence has ebbed and flowed since that decade, including a shootout with Mexican police in 2008 which led to the arrest of Eduardo Arellano Felix (via Reuters). Top 10 Disturbing Facts About Los Zetas - Listverse Moreover, the extremely violent gang has made connections and collaborated with U.S. gangs all over the country since 2010. The cartels have now moved beyond drug violence to murdering busloads of civilians, and the government seems incapable of stopping it. The gunmen injured 4 others in the attack. The criminal indictment claims that the former governor took bribes from drug cartels in exchange for official protection. [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. Then, learn about the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. 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. Whatever the motivations, the mass killings show just how little control the federal government exerts over Tamaulipas. People began to disappear, said San Fernando priest Ramon Ruiz. 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. "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. Jeffrey Morris is a researcher and freelance writer with a passion for history and rarities. 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. He alleged that the victims were abducted from buses and killed for refusing to join the cartel or pay their way out. 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. An 18-year old Ecuadorian migrant who survived the massacre told officials that it was Los Zetas, a brutal drug cartel, that had kidnapped the group of Central and South American migrants. Its origins are traced toEl Milenio, a group that was allied to the Tijuana cartel. 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, Then, in December 2015, Insider reported that La Familia founderCarlos Rosales Mendoza was found dead baring torture wounds. Groups like Los Zetas have also been known to operate abroad, buying raw materials from Argentina and operating in Asian countries like Malaysia. The two cartels enjoyed over a decade of business until the late 1990s, when the Gulf cartel had become self-sufficient. These are the top ten distressing facts about Los Zetas you dont want to know. Busloads of people were declared missing in 2011 when their luggage went unclaimed in Reynosa and Matamoros. 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. During the trial, witnesses said he had hacked apart his victims with an axe and burned their bodies in barrels, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Los Zetas called Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel 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. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia, The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. 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. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. In the 1990s, the aforementioned Cali cartel took the mantle from their Medellin rivals, becoming the most powerful cartel in the world. 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. The April 6, 2011, effort would eventually yield the largest mass grave ever found in Mexico. WebCartel: Los Zetas Killed: Oct. 7, 2012 Lazcano was the leader of the Los Zetas cartel. Elizabeth Shell He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. These cases have highlighted the growing interest of Mexican cartels in influencing politics.[5]. Graphic from a 2011 NDIC national drug threat assessment. Mail Online Videos: Top News & Viral Videos, Clips & Footage 4 De Leon said that he didn't voluntarily start working with the cartel; he was kidnapped and forced to participate. He also forced captured Mexican migrants into gladiatorial fights to the death. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. WebCartel Del Golfo interrogation 4 Zetas these bastards have admitted to raping women,killing women, killing kids. Curiously, no bus line reported their buses or passengers missing. 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. Trevino Morales became head of the Los Zetas cartel after the death of long-time leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano in October 2012. Web270p Video: Notorious Mexican Los Zetas cartel boss, Moises Escamilla May, 45, who was jailed for a string of ruthless beheadings, dies in jail from coronavirus Jalisco Cartel 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. However, according to Insight Crime's profile, the cartel's influence has been compromised by arrests and infighting, limiting their territory to Tijuana, a vital smuggling city on the US-Mexico border. Her work has been featured in various national and international media outlets, including the Guardian, PBS, NPR and Marie Claire. A former Mexican drug cartel kingpin who dismembered a six-year-old girl with an axe in front of her parents has been sentenced to seven consecutive life terms in a US prison. Some believe the victims were simply killed for refusing to join the cartel but, ultimately, San Fernando had become so violent that few journalists ever entered to investigate. CJNG have also committed several assassinations, including the June 2020 murder of Jalisco judge Uriel Villegas Ortiz and his wifeVernica, who were shot some 20 times, according to a El Pais report. On Aug. 24, 2010, however, Mexican Armed Forces unearthed the bodies of 72 undocumented immigrants who were simply executed. 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. 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. 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. WebZetas behead and dismember four women from the Gulf Cartel. According to reports in the BBC and Insight Crime, the latest cartel trend is the fragmentation of the drug trafficking landscape, especially in Mexico. [6] Mexican drug cartels are currently operating in 47 countries around the world, including Colombia, Guatemala, and others. 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. Jalisco New Generation, often referred to as CJNG, is another Mexican cartel that emerged in 2010. Former governor Humberto Moreira was also singled out by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon has having protected Los Zetas in his state. On March 13, 2013, De Leon and his father were apprehended by Border Patrol agents about three miles from the border near Comstock, TX. Authorities expect more violence to ensue in the coming days. [9] Local police rounded up migrants traveling by bus and handed them over to the gang. It is disheartening to hear that the founding fathers of a criminal organization like Los Zetas received training from US military officers. [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. Much of the cartel's drugs trade depended on theLazaro Cardenas port, an asset that La Familia killed some 1,500 people to protect. They recovered deleted material, which included death threats from the defendant and information regarding Zetas operations. Exposed by a Zetas member under a pseudonym, the details of the bus vanishings remain disputed. Besides drug smuggling, the cartel is involved in every facet of trade in its territory including human trafficking. In and around Cali if the mafia doesn't like you, you just disappear.". 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). 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. The first one they asked, he didn't want to work, and [cartel members] said, that's fine. He turned around, and they shot him in the head. 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. Brutality and inhumanity are the most noticeable traits of drug cartels all over the world, but Los Zetas has taken them to a new high. If you dont pay them, they will take your merchandise, he says. Navarro from Ciudad Victoria. 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). Former Los Zetas worker: I was forced to witness brutal killings Then, in May, SinEmbargo reported that the cartel had destroyed a military helicopter with an RPG, killing 5 soldiers. 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. On Tuesday, Rodriguez testified about a bloody massacre involving more than 300 people. 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. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Former Zetas members testified Tuesday, claiming the cartel is responsible for a bloody massacre in Piedras Negras in 2011. However, the Gulf remains entrenched in theirTamaulipas stronghold, which provides steady revenue from narcotics and migrant smuggling (via Insight Crime). Yarrington is reported to have allowed the Gulf and Los Zetas cartels to operate in his state without hindrance in return for bribes. On Wednesday morning, prosecutors called Jaime Abascal Reyna to the stand. Drug cartels influencing politics paints a picture of total disaster. The largest two graves were 10 feet deep and each held around 45 corpses. The Most Brutal Execution Methods Used by Mexican Cartels Border / Cartel ChroniclesBreitbart TexasCartel ChroniclesCartel ViolenceCDNCiudad VictoriaGrupo BravoLos ZetasVieja Escuela. The Horrific True Story Of The 2011 San Fernando Massacre. The heartless drug lord is claimed to have personally killed 2,000 people, in addition to ordering and supervising thousands of other murders. Los Zetas called Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel 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). Three of them are Rival gang MS-13 may have the most terrifying tattoos (see featured image), but Los Zetas wins the prize for violence. Since 2011, there have been numerous scandals exposing the collusion between politicians and drug cartels. WebIn August 2011, armed men affiliated with the Zetas cartel set fire to a casino in the Mexican city of Monterrey, killing 52 people. De Leon will serve time in jail after pleading guilty to a marijuana charge. Lazcano was the leader of the Los Zetas cartel. The women have been identified as Lourdes Gregorio Garcia Amaya from Texas, Raymunda Amaya Contreras, Maria Del Rosario Carrizales Amaya. With that grim context in mind, here are the most dangerous cartels to ever exist. WebLos 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. 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. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy, Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq, A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France, A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. This article was written by M.A. De Leon said that Millan-Vasquez would smile and laugh as he performed these killings. He was arrested by the Mexican Navy in 2012. They were the victims of a brutal new evolution in Mexican cartel violence. The rescue was made possible by an anonymous tip about gunmen bringing victims into a house in the Villas de la Fe neighborhood. In the past year, gunmen from Los Zetas Cartel performed unique retaliatory killings in response to their allys videotaped sexual assault behind bars. 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. Mexicos National Human Rights Commission estimated that 20,000 migrants were abducted in 2010, alone. Facebook beheading video: Who was Mexico's Jane Doe? Thank you. He has been in detention since his arrest in Texas in 2015. Elizabeth Shell. 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. You cannot underestimate the capabilities of a cartel whose founding fathers were trained by the U.S. military. Jair Cabrera/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesTributes to the 2011 San Fernando Massacre. 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. She was known for being the crazy white one. About two dozen have been captured or killed, including some from Los Zetas: Ivan Velazquez Caballero (aka El Taliban) However, despite its success in cocaine and methamphetamine, La Familia Michoacana's power was curtailed by yet another splinter group, The Knights Templar. [8] Los Zetas has been linked to several other mass murders in Mexico. When Reyna didn't hear from his son for several days, he started making calls. 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). The rest of us agreed.". Writing for the Los Angeles Times, William R. Long dubbed the Cali cartel as "Colombia's Gentlemen Cocaine Traffickers." A red Blackberry phone belonging to De Leon was examined by computer forensics experts with Homeland Security Investigations. 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. WebOn behalf of Los Zetas." Insight Crime and the BBC reported that these splinter groups are suspected to have abducted 43 Ayotzinapa students, which hit international headlines in 2014.