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. Do you think free access to journalism like this is important? 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. 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). Curiously, no bus line reported their buses or passengers missing. 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). Read more about illegal drugs and those who deal in them on 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels and 15 Notable Drug Traffickers. They were the victims of a brutal new evolution in Mexican cartel violence. 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. 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). 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. 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 traditional cartels buy off politicians, establish traffic routes for smuggling and make money. Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed. Attorney Jeff Blackburn, a crusader for the innocent, fought injustices across Texas in his improbable, utterly original, and often profane life. 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. He said that the Zetas commanders ordered the killings because there was a government informant in the group. 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 article was written by M.A. At least two jurors broke down in tears as they listened to Jorge De Leon Navarro describe how Los Zetas killed their prisoners. He also forced captured Mexican migrants into gladiatorial fights to the death. 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. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. First it was people with money, then it was anyone. Sadism was their brand. In fact, CNNreported that Cali mobsters even invested in four 500-pound bombs, which they intended to somehow drop on Pablo Escobar. There is a huge consensus that Mexican drug cartels are responsible for the drug epidemic in the United States. This radio communication technology has given them a edge over Mexican law enforcement agencies for years. They were believed to have been killed for refusing to pay a ransom or join the [6] Mexican drug cartels are currently operating in 47 countries around the world, including Colombia, Guatemala, and others. Media speculation on the motives for the kidnappings range from the cartels need for new recruits to fight its turf battles to the notion that passengers are being extorted for money. Former Los Zetas worker: I was forced to witness brutal killings His evil career was so incredibly successful that he made Forbes' billionaire list from 1987 to 1993. Morales liked to betand bet bigon the horses. 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. Breitbart Texas has consulted with relatives and friends of the Garcia family who said the Texas family had traveled to Ciudad Victoria with the children for the summer vacation. Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. The way in which the killers carried In this pivotal year, Zetas occupied territory in 405 Mexican municipalities, which Insight Crime found was more than double that of their biggest rivals. Today, the cartel retains a small presence in southern Mexico. Inside bloody world of Cancuns cartel wars as gangsters behead 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. Graphic from a 2011 NDIC national drug threat assessment. 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. He made a mistake in his greedbelieving he was invincible and untouchable. Gary Green and Arthur Brown Jr. are set to be killed next week by the State of Texas. Their wanton murders leave most civilians in silence. The heartless drug lord is claimed to have personally killed 2,000 people, in addition to ordering and supervising thousands of other murders. The 2011 San Fernando Massacre was both disturbing and, tragically, far from a one-off occurrence. The field was linked to the Los Zetas cartel. Authorities investigating the massacre reported numerous hijackings of passenger buses on Mexican Federal Example video title will go here for this video. People began to disappear, said San Fernando priest Ramon Ruiz. Authorities expect more violence to ensue in the coming days. 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. 4 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. Jalisco New Generation, often referred to as CJNG, is another Mexican cartel that emerged in 2010. He said that officers escorted him to remote locations to deliver guns to Millan-Vasquez on more than one occasion. The two claimed credible fear, telling agents that they feared for their lives if they were to stay in Mexico. Inside The Brutal 2011 San Fernando Massacre That Left 193 Dead On July 12, 2012, authorities seized over 50 kilograms of marijuana at the Del Rio port of entry. 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. [7] As usual, theyve also brought an unprecedented level of violence to the trade. Picture taken from a TV screen showing Miguel Angel Trevino Morales by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images. Tributes to the 2011 San Fernando Massacre. 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. An armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. 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. It was a solid lead, as cartels were known to take over ranches and convert them into makeshift jails or execution chambers. Mexico's CJNG Following 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. 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. WebDuring 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. However, recently, theyve taken their drug manufacturing activities to highly advanced countries like the United States. He has been in detention since his arrest in Texas in 2015. 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 This savagery is nothing new. 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. 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. 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). GRAPHIC EXCLUSIVE: Mexican Border State Prison However, despite these smaller groups' threat to the Guerrero and Morelosstates, the Beltrn-Leyva Organization is merely a trace of its former self. These are the top ten distressing facts about Los Zetas you dont want to know. But Los Zetas stands out. Most harrowing of all was the forensic evidence. It was one of the deadliest attacks ever on Mexican This was back when Lazcano and Z-40 were still running the Los Zetas cartel. Tomas Yarrington, former governor of Tamaulipas, is currently facing multiple drug trafficking and money laundering charges in the United States. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Mail Online Videos: Top News & Viral Videos, Clips & Footage It operates in more than half of the countrys 32 states. Los Zetas is indeed the worst Mexican drug cartel in history. Los Zetas was formed in 1997 to serve as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel. The women have been identified as Lourdes Gregorio Garcia Amaya from Texas, Raymunda Amaya Contreras, Maria Del Rosario Carrizales Amaya. De Leon said that he didn't voluntarily start working with the cartel; he was kidnapped and forced to participate. Navarro from Ciudad Victoria. The gunmen injured 4 others in the attack. 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. Men were beaten, hacked apart, flung from windows, hanged, and decapitated. All of the Texas Observers articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. Aside from manufacturing illegal drugs and trafficking them, the gang is also into kidnapping and extortion. 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. WebCartel Del Golfo interrogation 4 Zetas these bastards have admitted to raping women,killing women, killing kids. 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. 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. 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. Los Zetas control a wide swathe of territory ranging from the Texas border to Guatemala. In 2015, U.S. law enforcement discovered a marijuana field in Texas with a market value of $2 million. 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.". 2011 San Fernando massacre 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. Tamaulipas Lieutenant Governor Morelos Jaime Canseco Gmez admitted police were still looking for another bus of passengers. Cartel: Los Zetas 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. 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). Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty ImagesAn armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. De Leon is now cooperating with authorities. 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. Miguel Angel Trevino Morales (aka Comandante 40) [4] The cartel recruits in US prisons and also courts street gang members for its drug trafficking activities in Mexico and the U.S. According to reports in the BBC and Insight Crime, the latest cartel trend is the fragmentation of the drug trafficking landscape, especially in Mexico. In the past year, gunmen from Los Zetas Cartel performed unique retaliatory killings in response to their allys videotaped sexual assault behind bars. When it was Families across Mexico reported that relatives had disappeared after boarding passenger buses bound for 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). WebFrom March 24 to March 29, 2011, the Los Zetas drug cartel viciously slaughtered nearly 200 Central American migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico. On Wednesday morning, prosecutors called Jaime Abascal Reyna to the stand. BBC News Cartel: Los Zetas With their archenemy established, La Familia Michoacana set out to publicize themselves. There is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. Then, learn about the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. Rather than prioritizing corruption like its competitors, Los Zetas has Initially, the group was led by Osiel Crdenas Guilln, who recruited around 30 alumni from Mexico's special forces. When Reyna didn't hear from his son for several days, he started making calls. The import of this for the American people is that no matter what measures the US government takes to destroy the vast network of drug smuggling within the country, the effort may be fruitless, as it is no longer a case of fighting a foreign entity. The Shrinking actor talks mental health, being queer, and why the Lone Star State is the perfect home for his new play Silver Foxes. This time around, the horrific body count eclipsed all expectations with 193 people rotting in 47 mass graves. 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. Prosecutors asked De Leon why it took him so long to point out the defendant. The U.S. State Department issued warnings not to travel to or within Tamaulipas, as a result. 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). In August 2017, the cartel kidnapped 17 people and kept them in a stash house in Nuevo Laredo. The office's purpose was to collect debts from Escobar's extensive trafficking network. 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. 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. 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. 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. In 2017, the Mexican government extradited Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, a Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. 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. With population of 60,000, San Fernando is near the Texas border and epitomizes cartel carnage. 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. At this juncture, it is safe and reasonable to conclude that Los Zetas is one of the biggest headaches of the American people. The fact that Los Zetas and other Mexican gangs sponsor politicians in Mexico is a huge problem. You name it, the Zetas did it.. 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. In the end, the legacy of the 2011 San Fernando Massacre is one of blood money, corruption, and wanton murder. Besides carrying $2 million in cash and eight guns, Trevino Morales, the alleged kingpin of the feared cartel Los Zetas, was wanted for a spate of crimes in the U.S. and Mexico, ranging from the mundane to the horrific. How could such a tragedy occur in San Fernando not once but repeatedly? 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). They picked us up and told us we had to work for someone, for Los Zetas, De Leon said in court. The largest two graves were 10 feet deep and each held around 45 corpses. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port, A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador, A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk, The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron, Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Trevino Morales became head of the Los Zetas cartel after the death of long-time leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano in October 2012. Los Zetas called Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel Los Zetas is a Mexican drug cartel known for its sophisticated crime machine and brutality. The witness said that the commanders kidnapped him and his two superiors until they paid what they owed for the seized load of marijuana. 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. WebThere is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. 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). With Americans running the organization, winning the war against Los Zetas would be much more difficult. Three of them are 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.. Human smugglers often use buses to transport migrants north to the Texas-Mexico border. 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. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. 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. This wasnt the first time such a tragedy had visited San Fernando. She released videos of her beheading the caught zeta members herself. Moraless most preferred method of killing was to stuff victims in oil barrels and set them ablaze. The military gunned four Zetas members down, before capturing nine others and finding five abducted passengers inside the ranch. Besides drug smuggling, the cartel is involved in every facet of trade in its territory including human trafficking. WebOn behalf of Los Zetas." Its origins are traced toEl Milenio, a group that was allied to the Tijuana cartel. When prosecutors asked if De Leon feared police while en route to deliver firearms to "Chano," he said that he wasn't worried because the majority of police were bought out. 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. Officials exhuming the bodies noticed that many bore the marks of blunt trauma. Jair Cabrera/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesTributes to the 2011 San Fernando Massacre. Melissa is a 2016-17 Lannan Fellow at The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. The chief and 16 of his 25 men were questioned under suspicion of helping the Zetas abduct, kill, and bury the passengers. 2021 The Texas Observer. ", The Gulf cartel's control in the northeast state of Tamaulipas has seen many violent incidents, both against rivals and each other. There have been several arrests of purported Zeta members in the region but no trials. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo, A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota, Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. 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? 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. 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 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". 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. 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. The two cartels enjoyed over a decade of business until the late 1990s, when the Gulf cartel had become self-sufficient. Busloads of people were declared missing in 2011 when their luggage went unclaimed in Reynosa and Matamoros. 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. Much of the cartel's drugs trade depended on theLazaro Cardenas port, an asset that La Familia killed some 1,500 people to protect. A depressing fact about Los Zetas is that they are sometimes aided by Mexican police in the commission of unspeakable crimes.

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