The largest two graves were 10 feet deep and each held around 45 corpses. Cartel: Los Zetas Reyna discovered that his son's co-worker and girlfriend were also missing. We rely on the generosity of our readers who believe that this work is important. There is a huge consensus that Mexican drug cartels are responsible for the drug epidemic in the United States. Colombian National Police/Wikimedia Commons, ShareAlike 4.0 International/BaptisteGrandGrand. Tomas Yarrington, former governor of Tamaulipas, is currently facing multiple drug trafficking and money laundering charges in the United States. 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). Somewhere near San Fernando, which lies on the interstate to Matamoros, the buses were hijacked, and convoys of armed men snatched passengers. He said that the Zetas commanders ordered the killings because there was a government informant in the group. Los Zetas is a Mexican drug cartel known for its sophisticated crime machine and brutality. They were forcibly recruited and haven't been paid or fed by their bosses. Los Zetas is a criminal gang that manufactures and smuggles illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana, among others. The Shrinking actor talks mental health, being queer, and why the Lone Star State is the perfect home for his new play Silver Foxes. Navarro from Ciudad Victoria. 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. No one charges under $2,000 these days to get into the United States and [the Zetas] get $400 to $500 for each migrant smuggled through their territory, he says. When Osiel Cardenas Guillen took over as the leader of the Gulf Cartel, it was in the midst of a violent turf war. Moraless most preferred method of killing was to stuff victims in oil barrels and set them ablaze. This has led to savage fighting between some 400 splinter gangs, each killing and maiming for scraps of territory (via Business Insider). [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. Officials exhuming the bodies noticed that many bore the marks of blunt trauma. This savagery is nothing new. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Then, on April 21, 2011, police arrested San Fernandos police chief and got a little closer to the truth. Countries militaries are dedicated to defense from external aggression and the protection of peoples lives and properties. 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. The field was linked to the Los Zetas cartel. Los Zetas was described by the US government in 2009 as "the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico". However, despite its success in cocaine and methamphetamine, La Familia Michoacana's power was curtailed by yet another splinter group, The Knights Templar. Most harrowing of all was the forensic evidence. 4 Site made in collaboration with CMYK. 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). Months after the casino attack, 49 decapitated bodies were dumped on a Monterrey highway (via Insight Crime/The World). 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. Three of them are "[The government] told me not to go asking questions about my son. In the human smuggling business, migrants pay $100 to $200 upfront, then pay the rest once theyve reached the United States. Men were beaten, hacked apart, flung from windows, hanged, and decapitated. 330 76 comments Best Add a Comment ComfortableSoup5 2 yr. ago 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 Cartel: Los Zetas 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. Among the first deaths in the conflict was Edgar Guzman, El Chapo's son. Who knows what is going on in American Samoa. WebThe Most Brutal Execution Methods Reportedly Used By Mexican Cartels Beheading By Chainsaw. 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. Consequently, several Mexican cities such as Los Cabos, Tijuana, and Acapulco have recorded some of the highest murder rates in the world, according toStatista. The two cartels enjoyed over a decade of business until the late 1990s, when the Gulf cartel had become self-sufficient. About two dozen have been captured or killed, including some from Los Zetas: Ivan Velazquez Caballero (aka El Taliban) 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. 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. Like Los Zetas, their bitter rivals, CJNG is known for terrible violence. With the Medellin leader gone, Insider noted how the rival Cali cartel took the reins of Colombia's booming cocaine industry. It operates in more than half of the countrys 32 states. 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). All rights reserved. If you support this mission, we need your help. 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 office's purpose was to collect debts from Escobar's extensive trafficking network. Los Zetas cartel members and San Fernando Massacre suspects being presented to the press on June 30, 2011. A red Blackberry phone belonging to De Leon was examined by computer forensics experts with Homeland Security Investigations. 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. This was back when Lazcano and Z-40 were still running the Los Zetas 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. 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. At one of the gory murders the horrific slaughter of a young girl he reportedly told her father the crime was "so you can remember me", before ordering the murder of both parents. The irony of this scenario is that the training they received was supposed to prepare them for counterinsurgency and counter-narcotics operations. On July 12, 2012, authorities seized over 50 kilograms of marijuana at the Del Rio port of entry. These are the top ten distressing facts about Los Zetas you dont want to know. How could such a tragedy occur in San Fernando not once but repeatedly? He sent soldiers into San Fernando after the massacre to protect migrants and Mexican families, but they soon withdrew unlike the cartels. The cartels brutal murders came to a head under the leadership of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales. 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. Officials are still counting the dead, but, as of this writing, the bodies numbered nearly 200. Sadism was their brand. 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 military gunned four Zetas members down, before capturing nine others and finding five abducted passengers inside the ranch. The last time Reyna saw his son was Sept. 11, 2011. 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. The Gulf's cocaine business started when they brokered a deal with the Cali cartel, which was looking for new routes from Colombia to the United States. However, the Gulf remains entrenched in theirTamaulipas stronghold, which provides steady revenue from narcotics and migrant smuggling (via Insight Crime). Writing for the Los Angeles Times, William R. Long dubbed the Cali cartel as "Colombia's Gentlemen Cocaine Traffickers." Then, learn about the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. "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. On Tuesday, Rodriguez testified about a bloody massacre involving more than 300 people. 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. The 2011 San Fernando Massacre was both disturbing and, tragically, far from a one-off occurrence. You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. The load belonged to De Leon. WebOn behalf of Los Zetas." Eventually, this group broke away to become a drug cartel of their own, which is now the notorious Los Zetas. [CDATA[ The Times wrote how Escobar had always dreamed of being the President of Colombia, and this ambition showed in his twisted flair for governance. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. 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). 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Known for his brutality, one technique he allegedly favored was the guiso, or stew, in which enemies would be placed in 55-gallon drums and burned alive. 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. Los Zetas is the largest drug cartel in Mexico in terms of scale of operations. 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. WebCIUDAD 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 The find is indicative of cartel operations in Texas and the United States as a whole. 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. In the early 1990s, El Chapo steered the Sinaloa Cartel to dominance through his use of tunnel smuggling and widespread bribes. 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. WebIn 2010, the Zetas killed 72 undocumented immigrant workers in the San Fernando massacre. 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. 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. Killed: Oct. 7, 2012 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. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics Tributes to the 2011 San Fernando Massacre. He claimed that the drugs came from the Zetas "comandantes" or commanders, which included Millan-Vasquez. Los Zetass status as the largest drug cartel in Mexico carries additional implications. Much of the cartel's drugs trade depended on theLazaro Cardenas port, an asset that La Familia killed some 1,500 people to protect. The gunmen used a large hammer to break down the door before storming the house shooting indiscriminately at the women and children inside. 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. 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). Authorities had been notified of missing passengers from Highway 101 on May 24 and May 29, with soldiers following a tip that led them to the La Joya ranch a few miles off the road. He said that officers escorted him to remote locations to deliver guns to Millan-Vasquez on more than one occasion. But Los Zetas stands out. There is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. The cartel's influence has declined like many of its fragmenting peers, but their power remains strong inCiudad Jurez and the Valle de Jurez, which are key trafficking locations. Los Zetas operates in 17 states, while Sinaloa operates in 16 states. 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. Los Zetas control a wide swathe of territory ranging from the Texas border to Guatemala. In fact, CNNreported that Cali mobsters even invested in four 500-pound bombs, which they intended to somehow drop on Pablo Escobar. She was known for being the crazy white one. In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. He claimed that he was blindfolded, handcuffed, driven to random locations around Piedras Negras, stripped of the blindfold, and forced to kneel and watch these brutal murders. [4] The cartel recruits in US prisons and also courts street gang members for its drug trafficking activities in Mexico and the U.S. With all this being said, the power and brutality of the gang seem to be waning. There are a handful of drug cartels in Mexico, most of which run almost like corporations. Mainly, Grayson notes a Zetalisation starting to occur among the other cartels. Graphic from a 2011 NDIC national drug threat assessment. Tamaulipas Lieutenant Governor Morelos Jaime Canseco Gmez admitted police were still looking for another bus of passengers. That's right the Wight bitch was the bad one and cut off heads with axes with her own hands. Authorities expect more violence to ensue in the coming days. Aside from manufacturing illegal drugs and trafficking them, the gang is also into kidnapping and extortion. Not only are groups like Los Zetas interested in influencing politics, but Mexican politicians are equally interested in the dividends of the drug trade. Jesus Gonzalez/AFP/Getty ImagesFollowing the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, Federal Highway 101 was colloquially dubbed the highway of death or the devils road.. 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. 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. Elizabeth Shell. 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. If you dont pay them, they will take your merchandise, he says. 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). He created a company, Tremor Enterprises, to purchase racehorses for American contests, winning millions in prize money through fixing races and doping horses. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. // ]]>. Jeffrey Morris is a researcher and freelance writer with a passion for history and rarities. Authorities investigating the massacre reported numerous hijackings of passenger buses on Mexican Federal Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia, The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. 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 Imagine how tragic it would be for such a respected and honored organization to become an evil one like Los Zetas. You cannot underestimate the capabilities of a cartel whose founding fathers were trained by the U.S. military. What should we expect from a heartless criminal organization put together by ex-military men? WebCartel: Los Zetas Killed: Oct. 7, 2012 Lazcano was the leader of the Los Zetas cartel. !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"); Read more about illegal drugs and those who deal in them on 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels and 15 Notable Drug Traffickers. Curiously, no bus line reported their buses or passengers missing. The rest of us agreed.". The U.S. State Department issued warnings not to travel to or within Tamaulipas, as a result. 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.". 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. WebAlso dumbass the bitch on the far right was white "la cholla" or something she was called and she is was brutal as fuck. They robbed stores, they broke into an auto repair shop and stole cell phones and several vehicles, all with the goal of spreading terror.". 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 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. 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. As La Familia Michoacana expelled Los Zetas, they took territory across Guerrero, Morelos, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Jalisco and Mexico City. [6] Mexican drug cartels are currently operating in 47 countries around the world, including Colombia, Guatemala, and others. The following facts also illustrate the reality that an immediate defeat of the drug cartel may be far from feasible. This essay provides an overview of those incidents of torture and beheadings linked to the Mexican cartels and their mercenary and gang affiliates taking place both within Mexico and the United States. WebOn behalf of Los Zetas." Terrazas said the most corrupt was an elderly police officer and another named scar Jaramillo, who receive money from the organization to collaborate. Most troubling, however, is that The National Security Archive examining this memo stated that all 17 detained police officers had vanished from the public eye. 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. The Gulf cartel is among the oldest cartels in Mexico and has held varying degrees of power since its origins in 1984, according toInsightCrime. The fledgling cartel were trained by members of Los Zetas, yet they would turn on their mentors because of local resentment to Zetas' methamphetamine business. With nearly all of the bodies lacking identification, authorities transported them to the Matamoros morgue for family members to hopefully identify. Los Zetas had begun to hijack buses along Federal Highway 101. The Los Zetas cartel gunmen even executed the family dog. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. He frequently supervised killing experiments wherein new recruits were ordered to kill people with a machete or sledgehammer. The two men who were also gunned down have been identified as Cruz Felipe Pizana Saldivar and Angel Carrizales Amaya. As the cartel made connections across Mexico and the world, their death toll increased exponentially. Most are extorted and let go or sold into prostitution. Former Zetas members testified Tuesday, claiming the cartel is responsible for a bloody massacre in Piedras Negras in 2011. Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty ImagesAn armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. De Leon said that he helped Los Zetas stash drugs, transport firearms and deliver marijuana to drug mules along the river to be smuggled to the U.S. Rather than prioritizing corruption like its competitors, Los Zetas has preferred to use paramilitary violence to seize territory and intimidate rivals, according toInsight Crime. There have been several arrests of purported Zeta members in the region but no trials. Its origins are traced toEl Milenio, a group that was allied to the Tijuana cartel. He said that cartel members kidnapped him again and held him captive for 13 days until he found the money. To set the records straight, Los Zetas was formed by Mexican ex-military men. 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. More terrifying is their ease of operations in countries like the US. The FBI and the IRS eventually built a case against Morales and others, leading to his arrest. 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. 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.