In August 2010, the gang massacred 72 kidnapped migrants at a remote ranch in Not only are groups like Los Zetas interested in influencing politics, but Mexican politicians are equally interested in the dividends of the drug trade. The rescue was made possible by an anonymous tip about gunmen bringing victims into a house in the Villas de la Fe neighborhood. Among the first deaths in the conflict was Edgar Guzman, El Chapo's son. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. Photo by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images. Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. They recovered deleted material, which included death threats from the defendant and information regarding Zetas operations. They kidnapped a local farmers son and demanded $10,000, and when he gave them $5,000 everything he had they sent him half of his son.. 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. Put in pairs and given sledgehammers, they were forced to fight each other. Navarro from Ciudad Victoria. How could such a tragedy occur in San Fernando not once but repeatedly? 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 control a wide swathe of territory ranging from the Texas border to Guatemala. Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed. As the cartel made connections across Mexico and the world, their death toll increased exponentially. In 2015, Los Zetas leader Morales was arrested in Mexico City. Some had been killed by sledgehammer. After the group's 1985 murder of DEA agentEnrique Camarena, the US and Mexico closed in on the cartel, causing several leaders to disperse across Mexico, leaving El Chapo and his partnerHctor Luis Palma Salazar as the Sinaloa chiefs. 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). 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. A significant part of this bloodshed is caused by the Tijuana cartel, which is in constant conflict with the Sinaloa cartel. 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. Breitbart Texas Cartel Chroniclesare published in both English and in their originalSpanish. To protect himself from harm, Guillen hired a retired Mexican soldier as his bodyguard, who in turn solicited 30 Mexican Army deserters to form the cartels well-paid mercenary wing. Her work has been featured in various national and international media outlets, including the Guardian, PBS, NPR and Marie Claire. When Osiel Cardenas Guillen took over as the leader of the Gulf Cartel, it was in the midst of a violent turf war. Melissa is a 2016-17 Lannan Fellow at The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. The two claimed credible fear, telling agents that they feared for their lives if they were to stay in Mexico. San Fernando woman Alma Miriam Ruiz holding a photo of her daughter Dalia missing since 2010. the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. Outlets must also tag the Observer in all social media posts. Earlier in life, he was trained in a Mexican Special Forces unit to fight drug-trafficking organizations. Three of them are Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Information obtained from authorities points to the victims being at the wrong place at the wrong time. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. If a debtor refused, Escobar deployed his team of lethal "sicarios.". The winners got to become Zetas recruits, while the losers got death. To set the records straight, Los Zetas was formed by Mexican ex-military men. Cartel: Los Zetas During his peak in the mid-1980s, Escobar established a debt collection service called "Oficina de Envigado," which was based in the town hall of Envigado. WebCartel Del Golfo interrogation 4 Zetas these bastards have admitted to raping women,killing women, killing kids. Velazquez started out stealing cars in his hometown of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and was jailed there. 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. There is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. This wasnt the first time such a tragedy had visited San Fernando. When it was Even the Sinaloas are now decapitating people, he said. 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). The LA Times found that from January 1988 to November 1991, drug traffickers killed up to 219 people in this area, disposing of their bodies in rivers. Los Zetas is a criminal gang that manufactures and smuggles illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana, among others. WebAlso dumbass the bitch on the far right was white "la cholla" or something she was called and she is was brutal as fuck. The defendant in this case is Mariano Millan-Vasquez, known to everyone as "Chano." Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. 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. The FBI and the IRS eventually built a case against Morales and others, leading to his arrest. 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. The Juarez cartel is another relatively old organization dating back to the early 1980s (via Insight Crime). All rights reserved. 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. 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. 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. Thank you. 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. [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. You name it, the Zetas did it.. The women have been identified as Lourdes Gregorio Garcia Amaya from Texas, Raymunda Amaya Contreras, Maria Del Rosario Carrizales Amaya. Los Zetas was described by the US government in 2009 as "the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico". The gang often kidnaps and holds poor migrants who try to operate outside the system for ransom. Busloads of people were declared missing in 2011 when their luggage went unclaimed in Reynosa and Matamoros. "The first time [I was kidnapped], they took me with a group of about seven people. They picked us up and told us we had to work for someone, for Los Zetas, De Leon said in court. 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. On March 13, 2013, De Leon and his father were apprehended by Border Patrol agents about three miles from the border near Comstock, TX. 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 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. 2021 The Texas Observer. The April 6, 2011, effort would eventually yield the largest mass grave ever found in Mexico. However, despite these smaller groups' threat to the Guerrero and Morelosstates, the Beltrn-Leyva Organization is merely a trace of its former self. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. 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. [9] Local police rounded up migrants traveling by bus and handed them over to the gang. Instead, they became the drug cartel they were supposed to fight. The Zetas were notorious for their brutality, even by cartel standards. Killed: Oct. 7, 2012 Site made in collaboration with CMYK. In the early 1990s, El Chapo steered the Sinaloa Cartel to dominance through his use of tunnel smuggling and widespread bribes. 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. They robbed stores, they broke into an auto repair shop and stole cell phones and several vehicles, all with the goal of spreading terror.". 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. Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, has a reputation as a hotbed for drug smuggling and violence. While the Gulf cartel remains a danger to society, their influence has been diminished by Los Zetas, their wayward spawn. Yarrington is reported to have allowed the Gulf and Los Zetas cartels to operate in his state without hindrance in return for bribes. Favors were done under threat of death, while higher-ranking officials were paid off. If you support this mission, we need your help. However, the Gulf remains entrenched in theirTamaulipas stronghold, which provides steady revenue from narcotics and migrant smuggling (via Insight Crime). Aside from manufacturing illegal drugs and trafficking them, the gang is also into kidnapping and extortion. De Leon said that Millan-Vasquez would smile and laugh as he performed these killings. However, despite the logistical sophistication and the massive financial success, the history of cartels is fraught with betrayal, splinter groups, and brutally shortened lives. 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 load belonged to De Leon. These types of brutal dealings by Los Zetas originally a bodyguard group for another cartel upset the status quo. If you dont pay them, they will take your merchandise, he says. Traditionally, Mexican cartels like Los Zetas only grew and manufactured drugs in Mexican territory and other less advanced countries where government officials were collaborators or incapable of disrupting their 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. 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.