All rights reserved. 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. So how does Morales, who came into power just last year after his predecessor was shot and killed by authorities and his Los Zetas fit into the underworld that is Mexican cartels? They recovered deleted material, which included death threats from the defendant and information regarding Zetas operations. Inside bloody world of Cancuns cartel wars as gangsters behead Mexico's largest and most powerful drug gangs are the Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel. WebZetas behead and dismember four women from the Gulf Cartel. They were believed to have been killed for refusing to pay a ransom or join the The military gunned four Zetas members down, before capturing nine others and finding five abducted passengers inside the ranch. The cartels have now moved beyond drug violence to murdering busloads of civilians, and the government seems incapable of stopping it. Upon his release, he was put in charge of the cartel in Nuevo Laredo but then relocated to Zacatecas and rose through the ranks of Los Zetas. Follow @NewsHourWorld Consequently, several Mexican cities such as Los Cabos, Tijuana, and Acapulco have recorded some of the highest murder rates in the world, according toStatista. WebThere is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. Then come the Zetas, with no background in narcotics, and they start chopping peoples heads off, Grayson said. However, in the late 1990s/early 2000s, a set of El Milenio lieutenants rebelled and created their own cartel. The two cartels enjoyed over a decade of business until the late 1990s, when the Gulf cartel had become self-sufficient. WARNING GRAPHIC: The Most Brutal Murders Linked to El Chapo In the same month, heavily armed gunmen fired upon Omar Garcia Harfuch, Mexico City's public security secretary, injuring him and killing two bodyguards and a passerby (via Insight Crime). Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? A former Mexican drug cartel kingpin who dismembered a six-year-old girl with an axe in front of her parents has been sentenced to seven consecutive life terms in a US prison. Several other executions and attacks during the weekend brought the total number of casualties to 19 and close to 24 wounded by gunfire. About two dozen have been captured or killed, including some from Los Zetas: Ivan Velazquez Caballero (aka El Taliban) Former Los Zetas worker: I was forced to witness brutal killings 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. He said that they spoke over the phone every day. 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). It was found in Webb County, near the border city of Laredo. Gore video - four women dismembered by the gang - xgore The handful of passengers lucky enough to be rescued confirmed their captors intended to recruit them. (Watch our piece Mexican Marines Kill Drug Lord Known as The Executioner.). Mostly Central American immigrants, they were traversing the state of Tamaulipas to cross into Texas. In 2009, the Mexican government identified the countrys 37 most wanted criminals. Cartel leader who dismembered six-year-old girl 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. Most harrowing of all was the forensic evidence. Tamaulipas Lieutenant Governor Morelos Jaime Canseco Gmez admitted police were still looking for another bus of passengers. Cartel: Los Zetas Who knows what is going on in American Samoa. WebFrom March 24 to March 29, 2011, the Los Zetas drug cartel viciously slaughtered nearly 200 Central American migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico. When it was 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 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. WebThe Los Zetas used improvised weapons like knives, rocks, and burning mattresses. The CJNG split from the Sinaloa Cartel after the killing of Ignacio Coronel, a capo whose death caused a power vacuum(via Insight Crime). He frequently supervised killing experiments wherein new recruits were ordered to kill people with a machete or sledgehammer. The fact that Los Zetas and other Mexican gangs sponsor politicians in Mexico is a huge problem. CJNG's battles with the Los Zetas and CRSL cartels are similarly brutal. Inside The Brutal 1955 Murder Of 14-Year-Old Emmett Till That Galvanized The Civil Rights Movement, 101-Year-Old Woman Who Began Trapping Lobster Before The Great Depression Has No Plans To Retire, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Following the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, Federal Highway 101 was colloquially dubbed the highway of death or the devils road.. 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. 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. Whatever the motivations, the mass killings show just how little control the federal government exerts over Tamaulipas. Her work has been featured in various national and international media outlets, including the Guardian, PBS, NPR and Marie Claire. The load belonged to De Leon. Officials are still counting the dead, but, as of this writing, the bodies numbered nearly 200. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. The largest two graves were 10 feet deep and each held around 45 corpses. 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. 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. When Reyna didn't hear from his son for several days, he started making calls. Los Zetas' Brutal Business Model 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. Curiously, no bus line reported their buses or passengers missing. Partners must notify. This time around, the horrific body count eclipsed all expectations with 193 people rotting in 47 mass graves. 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). Among the first deaths in the conflict was Edgar Guzman, El Chapo's son. The last time Reyna saw his son was Sept. 11, 2011. But Los Zetas stands out. 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. Los Zetas is a criminal gang that manufactures and smuggles illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana, among others. Families across Mexico reported that relatives had disappeared after boarding passenger buses bound for the Texas-Mexico border. The traditional cartels buy off politicians, establish traffic routes for smuggling and make money. 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 eventual split between the groups was described by theCongressional Research Serviceas"most violent in the history of organized crime in Mexico. The criminal indictment claims that the former governor took bribes from drug cartels in exchange for official protection. Specific forms of torture are discussed as well as the most likely victims and perpetrators. 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. 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. 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). 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 Reporter-producer Larisa Epatko contributed to this report. More terrifying is their ease of operations in countries like the US. Yarrington is reported to have allowed the Gulf and Los Zetas cartels to operate in his state without hindrance in return for bribes. 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. In August 2010, Zetas executed 72 migrants in Tamaulipas, which was followed by 2011 attacks in San Fernando and a Monterrey casino, killing a combined 245 people. [9] Local police rounded up migrants traveling by bus and handed them over to the gang. 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. GRAPHIC: Los Zetas Cartel Kill U.S. Woman and 2 Daughters The U.S. State Department issued warnings not to travel to or within Tamaulipas, as a result. With Americans running the organization, winning the war against Los Zetas would be much more difficult. He claimed that the drugs came from the Zetas "comandantes" or commanders, which included Millan-Vasquez. 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 that grim context in mind, here are the most dangerous cartels to ever exist. Velazquez started out stealing cars in his hometown of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and was jailed there. Busloads of people were declared missing in 2011 when their luggage went unclaimed in Reynosa and Matamoros. With the Los Zetas fighting the Gulf Cartel for control of human trafficking networks, police corruption was no surprise. 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. They would rape and kill the women and offer men a macabre choice. 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. Los Zetas 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. 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. It operates in more than half of the countrys 32 states. Outlets must also tag the Observer in all social media posts. This gang violence occurs in their stronghold of Ciudad Jurez, where 1,200 people were murdered in 2018. 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). By that point, however, more bodies had surfaced. The Juarez cartel is another relatively old organization dating back to the early 1980s (via Insight Crime). A significant part of this bloodshed is caused by the Tijuana cartel, which is in constant conflict with the Sinaloa cartel. 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 kidnapping and murder of the SEIDO agents resembles the type of actions of another infamous Mexican crime group, the Zetas. 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. Los Zetas is the largest drug cartel in Mexico in terms of scale of operations. According to reports in the BBC and Insight Crime, the latest cartel trend is the fragmentation of the drug trafficking landscape, especially in Mexico. Brutal Mexican Zetas cartel leader chopped up girl, 6, with an axe Cartel: Los Zetas She was known for being the crazy white one. As the cartel made connections across Mexico and the world, their death toll increased exponentially. Islas suspects the kidnappings and brutal murders are a warning to smugglers who havent paid their dues to the Zetas. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty. SAN ANTONIO, Texas - In San Antonio today, a federal judge sentenced 34-year-old Marciano Millan Vasquez, a high ranking member and a former sicario for the Los Zetas drug cartel, to seven consecutive life imprisonment sentences for committing and aiding and abetting the commission of numerous murders and other acts of violence, 2021 The Texas Observer. This savagery is nothing new. Months after the casino attack, 49 decapitated bodies were dumped on a Monterrey highway (via Insight Crime/The World). While police arrested 76 suspects, including senior Los Zeta member Martin El Kilo Estrada, there was no victory there. 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. The cartel can trace its roots to the 1960s and '70s, when farming families entered the marijuana business. "[The government] told me not to go asking questions about my son. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberments and other gory executions. She specializes in reporting on immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border. Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty ImagesLos Zetas cartel members and San Fernando Massacre suspects being presented to the press on June 30, 2011. Authorities expect more violence to ensue in the coming days. The April 6, 2011, effort would eventually yield the largest mass grave ever found in Mexico. It is disheartening to hear that the founding fathers of a criminal organization like Los Zetas received training from US military officers. Insight Crime and the BBC reported that these splinter groups are suspected to have abducted 43 Ayotzinapa students, which hit international headlines in 2014. He was told to contact someone in Los Zetas to see if they had information. You cannot underestimate the capabilities of a cartel whose founding fathers were trained by the U.S. military. 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. Los Zetass status as the largest drug cartel in Mexico carries additional implications. 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. According to World Atlas, Tijuana had the highest homicide rate in the world in 2020, with 138 murder per 100,000 residents. The rest of us agreed.". 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. 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. There is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. He sent soldiers into San Fernando after the massacre to protect migrants and Mexican families, but they soon withdrew unlike the cartels. This has led to savage fighting between some 400 splinter gangs, each killing and maiming for scraps of territory (via Business Insider). 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.". The rescue was made possible by an anonymous tip about gunmen bringing victims into a house in the Villas de la Fe neighborhood. Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, has a reputation as a hotbed for drug smuggling and violence. The following facts also illustrate the reality that an immediate defeat of the drug cartel may be far from feasible. The Zetas have set a price for allowing smugglers to transport migrants into the United States, and the cartel expects its cut, Islas says. Torture, beheadings, and narcocultos Captured: Sept. 26, 2012 Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty ImagesAn armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. 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). This is a unique and distressing fact about the deadly gang. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. 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". They told me to stop doing that," Reyna said in court. 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels - Listverse Instead, they were raped and beaten to death or vanished into a new life as cartel soldiers. 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. 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. 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. The fact that Los Zetas was able to grow and nurture $2 million worth of marijuana in Texas is quite distressing. In the human smuggling business, migrants pay $100 to $200 upfront, then pay the rest once theyve reached the United States. Facebook beheading video: Who was Mexico's Jane Doe? You have to keep up with the Joneses. Led by the Beltran Leyva brothers Marcos Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo, and Hctor, the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO)was a vicious drug cartel in the Mexican state of Sinaloa (via Insight Crime/Wilson Center). In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. 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. On Wednesday morning, prosecutors called Jaime Abascal Reyna to the stand. On Tuesday, Rodriguez testified about a bloody massacre involving more than 300 people. GRAPHIC EXCLUSIVE: Mexican Border State Prison Mainly, Grayson notes a Zetalisation starting to occur among the other cartels. 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. The Horrific True Story Of The 2011 San Fernando Massacre. 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. Sadism was their brand. !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");