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However, Insight Crime suggests that the large traditional cartels may be over as Mexico's criminal underworld becomes increasingly fragmented and scattershot. 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. That's right the Wight bitch was the bad one and cut off heads with axes with her own hands. The Zetas were notorious for their brutality, even by cartel standards. Please check your inbox to confirm. 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. WebFrom March 24 to March 29, 2011, the Los Zetas drug cartel viciously slaughtered nearly 200 Central American migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico. He said that they spoke over the phone every day. Similarly, the U.S. Department of Justicedefines cartels as, "large, highly sophisticated organizations composed of multiple drug trafficking organizations (DTOs)and cells with specific assignments such as drug transportation, security/enforcement, or money laundering.". 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. Zetas Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, has a reputation as a hotbed for drug smuggling and violence. They recovered deleted material, which included death threats from the defendant and information regarding Zetas operations. A depressing fact about Los Zetas is that they are sometimes aided by Mexican police in the commission of unspeakable crimes. Victims were piled on top of one another haphazardly before the cartel used a backhoe to cover up their resting place. Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty ImagesLos Zetas cartel members and San Fernando Massacre suspects being presented to the press on June 30, 2011. "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. Exposed by a Zetas member under a pseudonym, the details of the bus vanishings remain disputed. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. Attorney Jeff Blackburn, a crusader for the innocent, fought injustices across Texas in his improbable, utterly original, and often profane life. Inside Mexicos brutal drug cartels - The Sun Among these provincial traders and smugglers wasJoaqun Guzmn Loera, better known as "El Chapo.". WebIn August 2011, armed men affiliated with the Zetas cartel set fire to a casino in the Mexican city of Monterrey, killing 52 people. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. WebIn 2010, the Zetas killed 72 undocumented immigrant workers in the San Fernando massacre. The cartel can trace its roots to the 1960s and '70s, when farming families entered the marijuana business. To set the records straight, Los Zetas was formed by Mexican ex-military men. There were only a few bullet casings at the scene, but one sledgehammer and bodies showing blunt trauma to the head. The winners got to become Zetas recruits, while the losers got death. The fact that Los Zetas and other Mexican gangs sponsor politicians in Mexico is a huge problem. 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. They robbed stores, they broke into an auto repair shop and stole cell phones and several vehicles, all with the goal of spreading terror.". Prosecutors asked De Leon why it took him so long to point out the defendant. Inside The Brutal 2011 San Fernando Massacre That Left 193 Dead The handful of passengers lucky enough to be rescued confirmed their captors intended to recruit them. He also forced captured Mexican migrants into gladiatorial fights to the death. 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. CIUDAD 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 visiting relatives. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. In the past year, gunmen from Los Zetas Cartel performed unique retaliatory killings in response to their allys videotaped sexual assault behind bars. Specific forms of torture are discussed as well as the most likely victims and perpetrators. Los Zetas is a powerful Mexican drug cartel that has made special use of fear to achieve its business goals. All rights reserved. Initially, the group was led by Osiel Crdenas Guilln, who recruited around 30 alumni from Mexico's special forces. The 6 most infamous crimes committed by Mexico's Zetas cartel He was told to contact someone in Los Zetas to see if they had information. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. Worse than any horror film: Inside a Los Zetas cartel kitchen Los Zetas is indeed the worst Mexican drug cartel in history. Somewhere near San Fernando, which lies on the interstate to Matamoros, the buses were hijacked, and convoys of armed men snatched passengers. 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. Marciano Millan-Vasquez, who was a member of the 'Los Zetas' organised crime gang, "brutally murdered anyone and everyone as it suited him and his cartel", the prosecuting lawyer said. All Rights Reserved. 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." These types of brutal dealings by Los Zetas originally a bodyguard group for another cartel upset the status quo. Rival gang MS-13 may have the most terrifying tattoos (see featured image), but Los Zetas wins the prize for violence. 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 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. [4] The cartel recruits in US prisons and also courts street gang members for its drug trafficking activities in Mexico and the U.S. Since 2011, there have been numerous scandals exposing the collusion between politicians and drug cartels. Few rivals could hope of matching Escobar as his cartel controlled80% of the cocaine trade, which involved daily 15-ton shipments to the United States, as detailed in Escobar'sInsight Crimebiography. This article was written by M.A. Colombian National Police/Wikimedia Commons, ShareAlike 4.0 International/BaptisteGrandGrand. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. He made a mistake in his greedbelieving he was invincible and untouchable. Los Zetas 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. 4 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. Former governor Humberto Moreira was also singled out by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon has having protected Los Zetas in his state. 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. 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. 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. [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. Inside bloody world of Cancuns cartel wars as gangsters behead Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. Captured: July 15, 2013 Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. [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. Like Los Zetas, their bitter rivals, CJNG is known for terrible violence. 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. 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. The two cartels enjoyed over a decade of business until the late 1990s, when the Gulf cartel had become self-sufficient. Los Zetas control a wide swathe of territory ranging from the Texas border to Guatemala. Busloads of people were declared missing in 2011 when their luggage went unclaimed in Reynosa and Matamoros. When prosecutors asked if De Leon feared police while en route to deliver firearms to "Chano," he said that he wasn't worried because the majority of police were bought out. 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. Then, in May, SinEmbargo reported that the cartel had destroyed a military helicopter with an RPG, killing 5 soldiers. Zetas [6] Mexican drug cartels are currently operating in 47 countries around the world, including Colombia, Guatemala, and others. Largely funded by the international drug trade, Mexican cartels wield military-grade weapons in firefights with Mexicos Armed Forces that often leave collateral damage. 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. Outlets must also tag the Observer in all social media posts. According to reports in the BBC and Insight Crime, the latest cartel trend is the fragmentation of the drug trafficking landscape, especially in Mexico. Even the Sinaloas are now decapitating people, he said. 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. Velazquez started out stealing cars in his hometown of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and was jailed there. Los Zetas was formed in 1997 to serve as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel. 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. 2021 The Texas Observer. 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 killings could be a warning and a way of depriving the smugglers of their livelihoods. However, the Gulf remains entrenched in theirTamaulipas stronghold, which provides steady revenue from narcotics and migrant smuggling (via Insight Crime). The Times wrote how Escobar had always dreamed of being the President of Colombia, and this ambition showed in his twisted flair for governance. The Juarez cartel is another relatively old organization dating back to the early 1980s (via Insight Crime). Follow @NewsHourWorld The two claimed credible fear, telling agents that they feared for their lives if they were to stay in Mexico. 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. Captured: Sept. 26, 2012 In April 2019, CJNG killed 14 people in Minatitlan, a Zetas territory. This gang violence occurs in their stronghold of Ciudad Jurez, where 1,200 people were murdered in 2018. Not only are groups like Los Zetas interested in influencing politics, but Mexican politicians are equally interested in the dividends of the drug trade. What should we expect from a heartless criminal organization put together by ex-military men? On Wednesday morning, prosecutors called Jaime Abascal Reyna to the stand. He said that the Zetas commanders ordered the killings because there was a government informant in the group. 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. This has led to savage fighting between some 400 splinter gangs, each killing and maiming for scraps of territory (via Business Insider). The two men who were also gunned down have been identified as Cruz Felipe Pizana Saldivar and Angel Carrizales Amaya. 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. 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. In 2015, U.S. law enforcement discovered a marijuana field in Texas with a market value of $2 million. [9] Local police rounded up migrants traveling by bus and handed them over to the gang. The eventual split between the groups was described by theCongressional Research Serviceas"most violent in the history of organized crime in Mexico. 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. Between January 2009 and July 2015, Millan-Vasquez was responsible for the murders of at least 29 people, according to testimony from the trial reported by local broadcaster KSAT. 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. 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. Melissa is a 2016-17 Lannan Fellow at The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. Los Zetas' Brutal Business Model Eventually, this group broke away to become a drug cartel of their own, which is now the notorious Los Zetas. 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. This was back when Lazcano and Z-40 were still running the Los Zetas cartel. 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 According to World Atlas, Tijuana had the highest homicide rate in the world in 2020, with 138 murder per 100,000 residents. This time around, the horrific body count eclipsed all expectations with 193 people rotting in 47 mass graves. His evil career was so incredibly successful that he made Forbes' billionaire list from 1987 to 1993. The office's purpose was to collect debts from Escobar's extensive trafficking network. You cannot underestimate the capabilities of a cartel whose founding fathers were trained by the U.S. military. Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. De Leon said that he didn't voluntarily start working with the cartel; he was kidnapped and forced to participate. // ]]>. The fact that Los Zetas was able to grow and nurture $2 million worth of marijuana in Texas is quite distressing. If their relatives do not pay for their release, they may be killed and dumped into mass graves. His body was stolen from the funeral home. [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.