The 6 most infamous crimes committed by Mexico's Zetas cartel An 18-year old Ecuadorian migrant who survived the massacre told officials that it was Los Zetas, a brutal drug cartel, that had kidnapped the group of Central and South American migrants. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. 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. 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. 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. He alleged that the victims were abducted from buses and killed for refusing to join the cartel or pay their way out. As the cartel made connections across Mexico and the world, their death toll increased exponentially. [CDATA[ In 2017, the Mexican government extradited Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, a Mexicos National Human Rights Commission estimated that 20,000 migrants were abducted in 2010, alone. Most are extorted and let go or sold into prostitution. The cartels have now moved beyond drug violence to murdering busloads of civilians, and the government seems incapable of stopping it. The defendant in this case is Mariano Millan-Vasquez, known to everyone as "Chano." 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. 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. WebIn 2010, the Zetas killed 72 undocumented immigrant workers in the San Fernando massacre. The irony of this scenario is that the training they received was supposed to prepare them for counterinsurgency and counter-narcotics operations. Los Zetas - Wikipedia Colombian National Police/Wikimedia Commons, ShareAlike 4.0 International/BaptisteGrandGrand. They were the victims of a brutal new evolution in Mexican cartel violence. Elizabeth Shell. If you dont pay them, they will take your merchandise, he says. 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). 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 Former Los Zetas worker: I was forced to witness brutal killings Former Los Zetas worker: I was forced to witness brutal killings On Wednesday morning, prosecutors called Jaime Abascal Reyna to the stand. Men were beaten, hacked apart, flung from windows, hanged, and decapitated. 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. This savagery is nothing new. Moraless most preferred method of killing was to stuff victims in oil barrels and set them ablaze. The criminal indictment claims that the former governor took bribes from drug cartels in exchange for official protection. This radio communication technology has given them a edge over Mexican law enforcement agencies for years. Morales liked to betand bet bigon the horses. The April 6, 2011, effort would eventually yield the largest mass grave ever found in Mexico. Zetas Sadist Los Zetas Cartel Set Brutal Standard in Drug War 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. [7] As usual, theyve also brought an unprecedented level of violence to the trade. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty. 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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 fact that Los Zetas and other Mexican gangs sponsor politicians in Mexico is a huge problem. 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. 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. 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. Eventually, this group broke away to become a drug cartel of their own, which is now the notorious Los Zetas. The memo indicated that local police acted as lookouts and helped in the interceptions of persons across all cases. With all this being said, the power and brutality of the gang seem to be waning. Shortly after the brutal execution, the CDN faction of the Los Zetas struck once more. Mail Online Videos: Top News & Viral Videos, Clips & Footage Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberments and other gory executions. In 2009, the Mexican government identified the countrys 37 most wanted criminals. Mexico's CJNG Following The two men who were also gunned down have been identified as Cruz Felipe Pizana Saldivar and Angel Carrizales Amaya. Border / Cartel ChroniclesBreitbart TexasCartel ChroniclesCartel ViolenceCDNCiudad VictoriaGrupo BravoLos ZetasVieja Escuela. Then come the Zetas, with no background in narcotics, and they start chopping peoples heads off, Grayson said. Jesus Gonzalez/AFP/Getty ImagesFollowing the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, Federal Highway 101 was colloquially dubbed the highway of death or the devils road.. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. 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. 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. 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. 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. The two claimed credible fear, telling agents that they feared for their lives if they were to stay in Mexico. (Watch our piece Mexican Marines Kill Drug Lord Known as The Executioner.). They also acted as lookouts for the cartel and turned a blind eye to their illegal activities. Sadism was their brand. Los Zetas called Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel Do you think free access to journalism like this is important? They robbed stores, they broke into an auto repair shop and stole cell phones and several vehicles, all with the goal of spreading terror.". Thank you. In the end, the legacy of the 2011 San Fernando Massacre is one of blood money, corruption, and wanton murder. Alberto Islas, a Mexico City security analyst whos advised corporations in Tamaulipas, offers a more plausible and chilling motive for the massacres: Its just business. The gunmen injured 4 others in the attack. 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. 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. Instead, they became the drug cartel they were supposed to fight. 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. WebZetas behead and dismember four women from the Gulf Cartel. 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. Their operations in Colombia and Guatemala can be taken for granted because these countries have homegrown drug cartel problems of their own. 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. The fledgling cartel were trained by members of Los Zetas, yet they would turn on their mentors because of local resentment to Zetas' methamphetamine business. With population of 60,000, San Fernando is near the Texas border and epitomizes cartel carnage. 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. Example video title will go here for this video. Initially, the group was led by Osiel Crdenas Guilln, who recruited around 30 alumni from Mexico's special forces. Cartel: Los Zetas It was one of the deadliest attacks ever on Mexican Breitbart Texas Cartel Chroniclesare published in both English and in their originalSpanish. The women have been identified as Lourdes Gregorio Garcia Amaya from Texas, Raymunda Amaya Contreras, Maria Del Rosario Carrizales Amaya. These types of brutal dealings by Los Zetas originally a bodyguard group for another cartel upset the status quo. Information obtained from authorities points to the victims being at the wrong place at the wrong time. With the suspects revealing what they had done, excavations began. Largely funded by the international drug trade, Mexican cartels wield military-grade weapons in firefights with Mexicos Armed Forces that often leave collateral damage. In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. 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. 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 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). 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. While the Gulf cartel remains a danger to society, their influence has been diminished by Los Zetas, their wayward spawn. 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. In 2015, Los Zetas leader Morales was arrested in Mexico City. Inside bloody world of Cancuns cartel wars as gangsters behead The Zetas were notorious for their brutality, even by cartel standards. 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