This article was written by M.A. Her work has been featured in various national and international media outlets, including the Guardian, PBS, NPR and Marie Claire. Promotional materials distributed by your outlet, including all social media work, must include cites for the Observer and our reporter. 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. GRAPHIC: Los Zetas Cartel Kill U.S. Woman and 2 Daughters 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. Prosecutors asked De Leon why it took him so long to point out the defendant. The Most Brutal Execution Methods Used by Mexican Cartels The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Then, on April 21, 2011, police arrested San Fernandos police chief and got a little closer to the truth. An armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. Tamaulipas Lieutenant Governor Morelos Jaime Canseco Gmez admitted police were still looking for another bus of passengers. He claimed that the drugs came from the Zetas "comandantes" or commanders, which included Millan-Vasquez. Their operations in Colombia and Guatemala can be taken for granted because these countries have homegrown drug cartel problems of their own. 2021 The Texas Observer. Yarrington is reported to have allowed the Gulf and Los Zetas cartels to operate in his state without hindrance in return for bribes. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. Rival gang MS-13 may have the most terrifying tattoos (see featured image), but Los Zetas wins the prize for violence. They were believed to have been killed for refusing to pay a ransom or join the 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. With that grim context in mind, here are the most dangerous cartels to ever exist. 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. The Most Dangerous Cartels To Ever Exist - Grunge.com 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. Miguel Angel Trevino Morales (aka Comandante 40) 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. According to World Atlas, Tijuana had the highest homicide rate in the world in 2020, with 138 murder per 100,000 residents. 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. 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. 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. Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty ImagesAn armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. Then, in December 2009, Arturo Beltrn Leyva was killed by Mexican marines. When it was 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. This radio communication technology has given them a edge over Mexican law enforcement agencies for years. 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. 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. 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). Jair Cabrera/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesTributes to the 2011 San Fernando Massacre. Drug lord Miguel Angel Z-40 Trevino Morales was arrested early in the morning Monday on a country dirt road after a Mexican Marine helicopter intercepted the pickup truck he was riding in. With nearly all of the bodies lacking identification, authorities transported them to the Matamoros morgue for family members to hopefully identify. Favors were done under threat of death, while higher-ranking officials were paid off. SAN ANTONIO -- A father whose son went missing in 2011 took the stand Wednesday in the federal trial of an alleged war commander for Los Zetas drug cartel. 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. During their enforcer period, theUS Drug Enforcement Agency(DEA) described Los Zetas as perhaps "the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and violent of these paramilitary enforcement groups.". Most harrowing of all was the forensic evidence. 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. De Leon said that during his captivity, he witnessed Zetas commanders dismember people while they were still alive and throw the body parts into a flaming barrel. Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. [1] The deadly organization started out as the enforcement branch of the Mexican Gulf Cartel. The two men who were also gunned down have been identified as Cruz Felipe Pizana Saldivar and Angel Carrizales Amaya. Groups like Los Zetas have also been known to operate abroad, buying raw materials from Argentina and operating in Asian countries like Malaysia. Families across Mexico reported that relatives had disappeared after boarding passenger buses bound for the Texas-Mexico border. 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. Partners must notify. The cartels have now moved beyond drug violence to murdering busloads of civilians, and the government seems incapable of stopping it. Curiously, no bus line reported their buses or passengers missing. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. They told me to stop doing that," Reyna said in court. Read more about illegal drugs and those who deal in them on 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels and 15 Notable Drug Traffickers. Captured: Sept. 26, 2012 The rest of us agreed.". Inside bloody world of Cancuns cartel wars as gangsters behead Islas suspects the kidnappings and brutal murders are a warning to smugglers who havent paid their dues to the Zetas. Exposed by a Zetas member under a pseudonym, the details of the bus vanishings remain disputed. Initially, the group was led by Osiel Crdenas Guilln, who recruited around 30 alumni from Mexico's special forces. The largest two graves were 10 feet deep and each held around 45 corpses. Information obtained from authorities points to the victims being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Traditionally, Mexican cartels like Los Zetas only grew and manufactured drugs in Mexican territory and other less advanced countries where government officials were collaborators or incapable of disrupting their operations. De Leon said that Millan-Vasquez would smile and laugh as he performed these killings. It operates in more than half of the countrys 32 states. Moraless most preferred method of killing was to stuff victims in oil barrels and set them ablaze. All rights reserved. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia, The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics 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. Sadist Los Zetas Cartel Set Brutal Standard in Drug War 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. [7] As usual, theyve also brought an unprecedented level of violence to the trade. 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). He alleged that the victims were abducted from buses and killed for refusing to join the cartel or pay their way out. In the end, the legacy of the 2011 San Fernando Massacre is one of blood money, corruption, and wanton murder. 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. 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. There is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. WebMultiple witnesses have testified that Millan-Vasquez controlled the region of Piedras Negras for Los Zetas and is responsible for hundreds of killings and disappearances. 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. Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberments and other gory executions. On Aug. 24, 2010, however, Mexican Armed Forces unearthed the bodies of 72 undocumented immigrants who were simply executed. Former Zetas members testified Tuesday, claiming the cartel is responsible for a bloody massacre in Piedras Negras in 2011. Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, has a reputation as a hotbed for drug smuggling and violence. Authorities investigating the massacre reported numerous hijackings of passenger buses on Mexican Federal The eventual split between the groups was described by theCongressional Research Serviceas"most violent in the history of organized crime in Mexico. Reporter-producer Larisa Epatko contributed to this report. Worse than any horror film: Inside a Los Zetas cartel kitchen WebFrom March 24 to March 29, 2011, the Los Zetas drug cartel viciously slaughtered nearly 200 Central American migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico. By that point, however, more bodies had surfaced. You name it, the Zetas did it.. In 2017, the Mexican government extradited Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, a However, in the late 1990s/early 2000s, a set of El Milenio lieutenants rebelled and created their own cartel. Whatever the motivations, the mass killings show just how little control the federal government exerts over Tamaulipas. As La Familia Michoacana expelled Los Zetas, they took territory across Guerrero, Morelos, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Jalisco and Mexico City. 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. Jalisco New Generation, often referred to as CJNG, is another Mexican cartel that emerged in 2010. Trevino Morales became head of the Los Zetas cartel after the death of long-time leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano in October 2012. Today, the cartel retains a small presence in southern Mexico. He also forced captured Mexican migrants into gladiatorial fights to the death. 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). Thank you. 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." This was back when Lazcano and Z-40 were still running the Los Zetas cartel. The macabre bloodsport was detailed in The Houston Chronicle. Los Zetas - Wikipedia Human smugglers often use buses to transport migrants north to the Texas-Mexico border. 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). Former governor Humberto Moreira was also singled out by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon has having protected Los Zetas in his state. The cartel leaders that subsequently took over after Moraless arrest were unable to stay in power for long, either being arrested or gunned down by a rival gang. It was a solid lead, as cartels were known to take over ranches and convert them into makeshift jails or execution chambers. 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. 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. 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. His evil career was so incredibly successful that he made Forbes' billionaire list from 1987 to 1993. Rather than prioritizing corruption like its competitors, Los Zetas has preferred to use paramilitary violence to seize territory and intimidate rivals, according toInsight Crime. Los Zetass status as the largest drug cartel in Mexico carries additional implications. Mexico's CJNG Following In and around Cali if the mafia doesn't like you, you just disappear.". 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). Like Los Zetas, their bitter rivals, CJNG is known for terrible violence. The traditional cartels buy off politicians, establish traffic routes for smuggling and make money. 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). Jeffrey Morris is a researcher and freelance writer with a passion for history and rarities. 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. Los Zetas called Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel The fact that Los Zetas and other Mexican gangs sponsor politicians in Mexico is a huge problem. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. De Leon will serve time in jail after pleading guilty to a marijuana charge. 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 defendant in this case is Mariano Millan-Vasquez, known to everyone as "Chano." 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. 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. A significant part of this bloodshed is caused by the Tijuana cartel, which is in constant conflict with the Sinaloa cartel. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes, A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India, The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC, An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution, A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors, State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya, A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic, A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California, Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. They picked us up and told us we had to work for someone, for Los Zetas, De Leon said in court. He made a mistake in his greedbelieving he was invincible and untouchable. This savagery is nothing new. The field was linked to the Los Zetas cartel. Los Zetas This wasnt the first time such a tragedy had visited San Fernando. Months after the casino attack, 49 decapitated bodies were dumped on a Monterrey highway (via Insight Crime/The World). In the human smuggling business, migrants pay $100 to $200 upfront, then pay the rest once theyve reached the United States. You can contact her at [emailprotected]. Abstract. The Sun In this pivotal year, Zetas occupied territory in 405 Mexican municipalities, which Insight Crime found was more than double that of their biggest rivals. Gary Green and Arthur Brown Jr. are set to be killed next week by the State of Texas. He said that they spoke over the phone every day. Navarro from Ciudad Victoria. Extortion, smuggling, torture, possible harvesting of human body parts. The Shrinking actor talks mental health, being queer, and why the Lone Star State is the perfect home for his new play Silver Foxes. Three of them are De Leon is now cooperating with authorities. Los Zetas cartel members and San Fernando Massacre suspects being presented to the press on June 30, 2011. The group was originally made up of 34 Mexican Special Forces soldiers. 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. The load belonged to De Leon. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. 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. To set the records straight, Los Zetas was formed by Mexican ex-military men. You have to keep up with the Joneses. 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. According to reports in the BBC and Insight Crime, the latest cartel trend is the fragmentation of the drug trafficking landscape, especially in Mexico. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. He said that officers escorted him to remote locations to deliver guns to Millan-Vasquez on more than one occasion. Top 10 Disturbing Facts About Los Zetas - Listverse 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. 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