It operates in more than half of the countrys 32 states. Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed. The most dramatic episode of the weekend carnage took place on Saturday morning when gunmen with one faction of the Los Zetas cartel known as the Cartel Del Noreste burst into a home in order to murder four children, five women and two men. Elizabeth Shell. The two cartels enjoyed over a decade of business until the late 1990s, when the Gulf cartel had become self-sufficient. Mexicos National Human Rights Commission estimated that 20,000 migrants were abducted in 2010, alone. 4 Cartel: Los Zetas In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. In 2009, the Mexican government identified the countrys 37 most wanted criminals. [9] Local police rounded up migrants traveling by bus and handed them over to the gang. 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. 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. In the past year, gunmen from Los Zetas Cartel performed unique retaliatory killings in response to their allys videotaped sexual assault behind bars. Mostly Central American immigrants, they were traversing the state of Tamaulipas to cross into Texas. 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. The load belonged to De Leon. On July 12, 2012, authorities seized over 50 kilograms of marijuana at the Del Rio port of entry. Site made in collaboration with CMYK. The following facts also illustrate the reality that an immediate defeat of the drug cartel may be far from feasible. Colombian National Police/Wikimedia Commons, ShareAlike 4.0 International/BaptisteGrandGrand. An armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. Top 10 Dark Facts About The Death Penalty [DISTURBING], Top 10 Truly Disturbing Facts About Japan's Suicide Forest, Top 10 Disturbing Facts About The Unabomber, Top 10 Disturbing Facts About Sid & Nancy's Doomed, Top 10 Disturbing Facts About the "Night Stalker", Top 10 Iconic Fever Dreams Set In Los Angeles, Top 10 Murder Houses In Los Angeles And Their, 10 Controversial Toys You Might Already Have in Your Home, Ten Absolutely Vicious Fights over Inherited Fortunes, 10 Female Film Pioneers Who Shaped the Movies, Ten True Tales from Americas Toughest Prison, 10 Times Members of Secretive Societies and Organizations Spilled the Beans, 10 Common Idioms with Unexpectedly Dark Origins, 10 North American Animals with Misplaced Reputations, 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels, 10 Heinous Cases Of Misconduct By Crime Investigators, 10 Ruthless Gangs Who Dared to Stand Up to the Mafia, 10 Horrifying Facts About The Brabant Killers, 10 Disturbing True Crime Documentaries You Can Only Watch Once, 10 Tragic Cases Of Children Murdered By Social Workers. 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. This has led to savage fighting between some 400 splinter gangs, each killing and maiming for scraps of territory (via Business Insider). This savagery is nothing new. When Reyna didn't hear from his son for several days, he started making calls. 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). 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. Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, has a reputation as a hotbed for drug smuggling and violence. De Leon said that he didn't voluntarily start working with the cartel; he was kidnapped and forced to participate. All rights reserved. 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. She was known for being the crazy white one. Jesus Gonzalez/AFP/Getty ImagesFollowing the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, Federal Highway 101 was colloquially dubbed the highway of death or the devils road.. Even the Sinaloas are now decapitating people, he said. Extortion, smuggling, torture, possible harvesting of human body parts. The heartless drug lord is claimed to have personally killed 2,000 people, in addition to ordering and supervising thousands of other murders. 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. Rather than prioritizing corruption like its competitors, Los Zetas has Reyna discovered that his son's co-worker and girlfriend were also missing. 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. In 2015, Los Zetas leader Morales was arrested in Mexico City. Jeffrey Morris is a researcher and freelance writer with a passion for history and rarities. According to reports in the BBC and Insight Crime, the latest cartel trend is the fragmentation of the drug trafficking landscape, especially in Mexico. 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 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. 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. They ordered the informant be killed along with anyone and everyone associated with him. It would occur to many as an unacceptable surprise that Los Zetas recruits members in the United States. Most harrowing of all was the forensic evidence. Months after the casino attack, 49 decapitated bodies were dumped on a Monterrey highway (via Insight Crime/The World). The field was linked to the Los Zetas cartel. Initially, the group was led by Osiel Crdenas Guilln, who recruited around 30 alumni from Mexico's special forces. Her work has been featured in various national and international media outlets, including the Guardian, PBS, NPR and Marie Claire. With the Medellin leader gone, Insider noted how the rival Cali cartel took the reins of Colombia's booming cocaine industry. Rogue policemen are believed to have played a role in the deaths of 193 people, whose bodies were found in hidden graves in San Fernando in 2011, and 49 in Cadereyta in the state of Nuevo Leon in 2012. Several other executions and attacks during the weekend brought the total number of casualties to 19 and close to 24 wounded by gunfire. The eventual split between the groups was described by theCongressional Research Serviceas"most violent in the history of organized crime in Mexico. In 2017, the Mexican government extradited Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, a 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). It was a solid lead, as cartels were known to take over ranches and convert them into makeshift jails or execution chambers. Los Zetas is a criminal gang that manufactures and smuggles illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana, among others. Graphic from a 2011 NDIC national drug threat assessment. If you dont pay them, they will take your merchandise, he says. Then, learn about the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. On March 13, 2013, De Leon and his father were apprehended by Border Patrol agents about three miles from the border near Comstock, TX. If you support this mission, we need your help. WebIn August 2011, armed men affiliated with the Zetas cartel set fire to a casino in the Mexican city of Monterrey, killing 52 people. 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. The 2010 San Fernando Massacre bore similarities to the June 2011 confession of Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel. Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. The kidnapping and murder of the SEIDO agents resembles the type of actions of another infamous Mexican crime group, the Zetas. 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. This time around, the horrific body count eclipsed all expectations with 193 people rotting in 47 mass graves. Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. Information obtained from authorities points to the victims being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberments and other gory executions. Three of them are It was the first time the Attorney Generals Office declassified documents relating to the incidents, and proved authorities not only tolerated cartel activity but assisted it. 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. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories, Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland, Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk, AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix, Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio, Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Spanish electro-pop band return home after being kidnapped in Mexico, Marijuana legalisation in US dents drug cartel profits, Mexico cartel members arrested in hunt for 43 kidnapped students, Cartel leader who dismembered six-year-old girl jailed for life, 5% off all bookings with this Travelodge discount code, Save 200 on 2023 holidays with this TUI discount code, Extra 10% off hotel bookings with this Barcelo discount code, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. They were the victims of a brutal new evolution in Mexican cartel violence. Melissa is a 2016-17 Lannan Fellow at The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. He claimed that the drugs came from the Zetas "comandantes" or commanders, which included Millan-Vasquez. The cartels have now moved beyond drug violence to murdering busloads of civilians, and the government seems incapable of stopping it. However, in the late 1990s/early 2000s, a set of El Milenio lieutenants rebelled and created their own cartel. The macabre bloodsport was detailed in The Houston Chronicle. One official said, "The valley is the most dangerous region in Colombia in terms of drug violence. He also won territory from the Tijuana and Juarez cartels during the Mexican government's war on drugs, which brought new levels of violence to the region (via Britannica). 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 find is indicative of cartel operations in Texas and the United States as a whole. As La Familia Michoacana expelled Los Zetas, they took territory across Guerrero, Morelos, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Jalisco and Mexico City. It is practically impossible to list all the atrocities that this extremely violent group has committed. He made a mistake in his greedbelieving he was invincible and untouchable. The Zetas have set a price for allowing smugglers to transport migrants into the United States, and the cartel expects its cut, Islas says. 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. 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 Countries militaries are dedicated to defense from external aggression and the protection of peoples lives and properties. 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. This wasnt the first time such a tragedy had visited San Fernando. 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 With Americans running the organization, winning the war against Los Zetas would be much more difficult. The 34-year-old, known as "Chano", was a regional boss in the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. In April 2019, CJNG killed 14 people in Minatitlan, a Zetas territory. The cartel can trace its roots to the 1960s and '70s, when farming families entered the marijuana business. Officials exhuming the bodies noticed that many bore the marks of blunt trauma. Prosecutors asked De Leon why it took him so long to point out the defendant. Cartel: Los Zetas US attorney Richard L Durbin Jr told the court in San Antonio, Texas, the killer had acted "without mercy or compunction". They picked us up and told us we had to work for someone, for Los Zetas, De Leon said in court. Los Zetas control a wide swathe of territory ranging from the Texas border to Guatemala. 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. With their archenemy established, La Familia Michoacana set out to publicize themselves. WebZetas behead and dismember four women from the Gulf Cartel. Cartel: Los Zetas In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. 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. Reporter-producer Larisa Epatko contributed to this report. They robbed stores, they broke into an auto repair shop and stole cell phones and several vehicles, all with the goal of spreading terror.". People began to disappear, said San Fernando priest Ramon Ruiz. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Los Zetass status as the largest drug cartel in Mexico carries additional implications. 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. 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. WebCartel: Los Zetas Killed: Oct. 7, 2012 Lazcano was the leader of the Los Zetas cartel. "The first time [I was kidnapped], they took me with a group of about seven people. In this pivotal year, Zetas occupied territory in 405 Mexican municipalities, which Insight Crime found was more than double that of their biggest rivals. 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. By that point, however, more bodies had surfaced. 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. 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). The women have been identified as Lourdes Gregorio Garcia Amaya from Texas, Raymunda Amaya Contreras, Maria Del Rosario Carrizales Amaya. They recovered deleted material, which included death threats from the defendant and information regarding Zetas operations. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. 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. 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. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. 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. Follow @NewsHourWorld Promotional materials distributed by your outlet, including all social media work, must include cites for the Observer and our reporter. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, William R. Long dubbed the Cali cartel as "Colombia's Gentlemen Cocaine Traffickers." The Shrinking actor talks mental health, being queer, and why the Lone Star State is the perfect home for his new play Silver Foxes. Perhaps the most heinous La Linea crime occurred in Bavispe, where the group attacked a Mormon family inNovember 2019, killing nine people including several children, according to ABC.