The two claimed credible fear, telling agents that they feared for their lives if they were to stay in Mexico. On Wednesday morning, prosecutors called Jaime Abascal Reyna to the stand. WebOn behalf of Los Zetas." 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 WebFrom March 24 to March 29, 2011, the Los Zetas drug cartel viciously slaughtered nearly 200 Central American migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico. This savagery is nothing new. It operates in more than half of the countrys 32 states. 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. 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. 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. Breitbart Texas Cartel Chroniclesare published in both English and in their originalSpanish. 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. The two cartels enjoyed over a decade of business until the late 1990s, when the Gulf cartel had become self-sufficient. 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. 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. At this juncture, it is safe and reasonable to conclude that Los Zetas is one of the biggest headaches of the American people. 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 rest of us agreed.". 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. 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. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Marciano Millan-Vasquez 'brutally murdered anyone and everyone as it suited him and his cartel', Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican, A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. 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. In 2006, severalLa Familia hit men, who said they had a "divine right" to kill, dumped five severed heads on a dance floor, yet this didn't alienate them in the public eye (via Insider/Insight Crime). These are the top ten distressing facts about Los Zetas you dont want to know. 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. 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. 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 huge consensus that Mexican drug cartels are responsible for the drug epidemic in the United States. Authorities expect more violence to ensue in the coming days. A depressing fact about Los Zetas is that they are sometimes aided by Mexican police in the commission of unspeakable crimes. In August 2010, the gang massacred 72 kidnapped migrants at a remote ranch in [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. Then come the Zetas, with no background in narcotics, and they start chopping peoples heads off, Grayson said. 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. To make matters worse, the gang is also into migrant smuggling. Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. Colombian National Police/Wikimedia Commons, ShareAlike 4.0 International/BaptisteGrandGrand. President Felipe Caldern deployed the military against Mexicos cartels in 2007, and despite $1.6 billion in U.S. support, 35,000 civilians were now dead by 2011, with thousands missing. A red Blackberry phone belonging to De Leon was examined by computer forensics experts with Homeland Security Investigations. This is because La Familia styled itself as the people's cartel by performing social work and employing civilians, which won both popularity and new recruits. Torture, beheadings, and narcocultos Elizabeth Shell. On July 12, 2012, authorities seized over 50 kilograms of marijuana at the Del Rio port of entry. The defendant in this case is Mariano Millan-Vasquez, known to everyone as "Chano." FROM brutal beheadings to violent kidnappings, the cartel wars of Cancun have unleashed horror on Mexico's Caribbean coast as gangsters wreak havoc yards away from luxury resorts. Los Zetas called Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel Los Zetas was formed in 1997 to serve as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel. The gunmen used a large hammer to break down the door before storming the house shooting indiscriminately at the women and children inside. In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. Cartel: Los Zetas Rival gang MS-13 may have the most terrifying tattoos (see featured image), but Los Zetas wins the prize for violence. The witness said that the commanders kidnapped him and his two superiors until they paid what they owed for the seized load of marijuana. 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. They picked us up and told us we had to work for someone, for Los Zetas, De Leon said in court. 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. 4 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." 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. 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). However, despite these smaller groups' threat to the Guerrero and Morelosstates, the Beltrn-Leyva Organization is merely a trace of its former self. 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. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. When Osiel Cardenas Guillen took over as the leader of the Gulf Cartel, it was in the midst of a violent turf war. Originally a security detail for the Sinaloa cartel, BLO seceded in 2008 and a fierce conflict ensued. De Leon said that Millan-Vasquez would smile and laugh as he performed these killings. [6] Mexican drug cartels are currently operating in 47 countries around the world, including Colombia, Guatemala, and others. Months after the casino attack, 49 decapitated bodies were dumped on a Monterrey highway (via Insight Crime/The World). As Breitbart Texas has been reporting for more than eight months, the Cartel Del Noreste has been at war with the rival faction known as Vieja Escuela Z or Grupo Bravo. 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. During a particularly emotional testimony on Wednesday, a former worker for Los Zetas said that he was kidnapped twice by the cartel and was forced to witness several violent acts. One official said, "The valley is the most dangerous region in Colombia in terms of drug violence. It was found in Webb County, near the border city of Laredo. Yet the Cali cartel was still a powerful drug cartel that used violence if it had to, especially during its conflict with the Medellin cartel, which took many lives on both sides. If the lawmakers are puppets to drug cartels, then there is very little hope that the war against the cartels will be won. Los Zetas To set the records straight, Los Zetas was formed by Mexican ex-military men. Authorities investigating the massacre reported numerous hijackings of passenger buses on Mexican Federal Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, has a reputation as a hotbed for drug smuggling and violence. WebZetas behead and dismember four women from the Gulf Cartel. 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 2015, Los Zetas leader Morales was arrested in Mexico City. De Leon said that his two superiors were let go after they paid, but that he didn't have the $100,000 the cartel needed. He alleged that the victims were abducted from buses and killed for refusing to join the cartel or pay their way out. [CDATA[ 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. It had only been a year since officials in the Mexican city found 72 victims of the Los Zetas drug cartel buried in the dirt. 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. 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. 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. 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. Countries militaries are dedicated to defense from external aggression and the protection of peoples lives and properties. (Watch our piece Mexican Marines Kill Drug Lord Known as The Executioner.). When prosecutors asked De Leon if "Chano" was in the courtroom, the witness stood up and scanned the courtroom for close to three minutes, before pointing at Millan-Vasquez. Victims were piled on top of one another haphazardly before the cartel used a backhoe to cover up their resting place. Aside from manufacturing illegal drugs and trafficking them, the gang is also into kidnapping and extortion. The load belonged to De Leon. They recovered deleted material, which included death threats from the defendant and information regarding Zetas operations. WebLos Zetas have also carried out multiple massacres and attacks on civilians and rival cartels, such as: the 2010 San Fernando massacre (24 August), where 72 migrants were found Their wanton murders leave most civilians in silence. Islas suspects the kidnappings and brutal murders are a warning to smugglers who havent paid their dues to the Zetas. Los Zetas control a wide swathe of territory ranging from the Texas border to Guatemala. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Besides drug smuggling, the cartel is involved in every facet of trade in its territory including human trafficking. De Leon will serve time in jail after pleading guilty to a marijuana charge. Instead, they became the drug cartel they were supposed to fight. 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 last time Reyna saw his son was Sept. 11, 2011. 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). Read more about illegal drugs and those who deal in them on 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels and 15 Notable Drug Traffickers. WebThe Los Zetas used improvised weapons like knives, rocks, and burning mattresses. He said that they spoke over the phone every day. Rather than prioritizing corruption like its competitors, Los Zetas has 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. They told me to stop doing that," Reyna 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. Information obtained from authorities points to the victims being at the wrong place at the wrong time. 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. At least two jurors broke down in tears as they listened to Jorge De Leon Navarro describe how Los Zetas killed their prisoners. 330 76 comments Best Add a Comment ComfortableSoup5 2 yr. ago Rodriguez said that when he asked a commander about Reyna's son who disappeared, the commander said for him to stop asking about it, because they just finished "cooking him". Shortly after the brutal execution, the CDN faction of the Los Zetas struck once more. 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). Relatives of the victims have begun a Go Fund Me campaign in order to take the bodies of Garcia and her two daughters Galilea and Mariana to South Texas for burial. De Leon is now cooperating with authorities. With their archenemy established, La Familia Michoacana set out to publicize themselves. She was known for being the crazy white one. Human smugglers often use buses to transport migrants north to the Texas-Mexico border. They ordered the informant be killed along with anyone and everyone associated with him. However, PBS wrote that the Cali cartel did not inherit Escobar's public flair for violence, preferring to adopt a business faade in their international operation. You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. By that point, however, more bodies had surfaced. But Los Zetas stands out. "The first time [I was kidnapped], they took me with a group of about seven people. 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. If their relatives do not pay for their release, they may be killed and dumped into mass graves. WebCartel: Los Zetas Killed: Oct. 7, 2012 Lazcano was the leader of the Los Zetas cartel. Gary Green and Arthur Brown Jr. are set to be killed next week by the State of Texas. De Leon said that he didn't voluntarily start working with the cartel; he was kidnapped and forced to participate. Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. 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. Los Zetas operates in 17 states, while Sinaloa operates in 16 states. Sadism was their brand. The 6 most infamous crimes committed by Mexico's Zetas cartel With the Medellin leader gone, Insider noted how the rival Cali cartel took the reins of Colombia's booming cocaine industry. With the Los Zetas fighting the Gulf Cartel for control of human trafficking networks, police corruption was no surprise. Gradually, the BLO began to weaken in this battle of attrition, losing many members to jail or death. Follow @NewsHourWorld In this pivotal year, Zetas occupied territory in 405 Mexican municipalities, which Insight Crime found was more than double that of their biggest rivals. Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberments and other gory executions. The Horrific True Story Of The 2011 San Fernando Massacre. Gore video - four women dismembered by the gang - xgore After learning about the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, take a look at 33 photos of the Mexican drug war. Border / Cartel ChroniclesBreitbart TexasCartel ChroniclesCartel ViolenceCDNCiudad VictoriaGrupo BravoLos ZetasVieja Escuela. Then, in December 2015, Insider reported that La Familia founderCarlos Rosales Mendoza was found dead baring torture wounds. 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. He made a mistake in his greedbelieving he was invincible and untouchable. However, Insight Crime suggests that the large traditional cartels may be over as Mexico's criminal underworld becomes increasingly fragmented and scattershot. 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. 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. WebOn behalf of Los Zetas." People began to disappear, said San Fernando priest Ramon Ruiz. With all this being said, the power and brutality of the gang seem to be waning. 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. Tributes to the 2011 San Fernando Massacre. The largest two graves were 10 feet deep and each held around 45 corpses. Los Zetas' Brutal Business Model GRAPHIC: Los Zetas Cartel Kill U.S. Woman and 2 Daughters He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. First it was people with money, then it was anyone. 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. 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. 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. WebIn August 2011, armed men affiliated with the Zetas cartel set fire to a casino in the Mexican city of Monterrey, killing 52 people. On Aug. 24, 2010, however, Mexican Armed Forces unearthed the bodies of 72 undocumented immigrants who were simply executed. The Most Dangerous Cartels To Ever Exist - Grunge.com An armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. The fact that Los Zetas was able to grow and nurture $2 million worth of marijuana in Texas is quite distressing. 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). [1] The deadly organization started out as the enforcement branch of the Mexican Gulf Cartel. While police arrested 76 suspects, including senior Los Zeta member Martin El Kilo Estrada, there was no victory there. 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. If you dont pay them, they will take your merchandise, he says. The gang often kidnaps and holds poor migrants who try to operate outside the system for ransom. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. 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 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. Mail Online Videos: Top News & Viral Videos, Clips & Footage 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). The Zetas have set a price for allowing smugglers to transport migrants into the United States, and the cartel expects its cut, Islas says. Trevino Morales became head of the Los Zetas cartel after the death of long-time leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano in October 2012. It would occur to many as an unacceptable surprise that Los Zetas recruits members in the United States. The rescue was made possible by an anonymous tip about gunmen bringing victims into a house in the Villas de la Fe neighborhood. In 2009, the Mexican government identified the countrys 37 most wanted criminals. The fact that Los Zetas and other Mexican gangs sponsor politicians in Mexico is a huge problem. Jalisco New Generation, often referred to as CJNG, is another Mexican cartel that emerged in 2010. Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. 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. Top 10 Disturbing Facts About Los Zetas - Listverse newsletter for analysis you wont find anywhereelse. 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. Captured: Sept. 26, 2012 Then, in May, SinEmbargo reported that the cartel had destroyed a military helicopter with an RPG, killing 5 soldiers. 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). Cartel leader who dismembered six-year-old girl However, in the late 1990s/early 2000s, a set of El Milenio lieutenants rebelled and created their own 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 Specific forms of torture are discussed as well as the most likely victims and perpetrators. Miguel Angel Trevino Morales (aka Comandante 40) He also forced captured Mexican migrants into gladiatorial fights to the death. WebSoon after the murder, Guzman became known as Z-1, and would become the founder of Los Zetas, literally The Zs: an organization that began as an elite security detail and would evolve across 12 years to become one of Mexicos most powerful criminal organizations. Cartel: Los Zetas Groups like Los Zetas have also been known to operate abroad, buying raw materials from Argentina and operating in Asian countries like Malaysia. Extortion, smuggling, torture, possible harvesting of human body parts. 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