[103] The authorities allege that he was succeeded by Omar Treviño Morales (alias Z-42), his brother. Zetas, Gulf Cartel, and others are in the U.S. conducting their business. [98] Their rivals, the Sinaloa Cartel, had lost some territories to Los Zetas, and went down from 23 states in dominion to 16. [43] Some of these former GAFE members reportedly received training in commando and urban warfare from the Israeli and U.S. Special Forces. [102], On 9 May 2014, one of the founding members, Galindo Mellado Cruz, and four other armed men were killed in a shootout after Mexican security forces raided Cruz's hideout in the city of Reynosa. "[130], In addition, there are formal charges that three former governors of Tamaulipas – Manuel Cavazos Lerma (1993–1999), Tomás Yarrington (1999–2005), and Eugenio Hernández Flores (2005–2010) – have had close ties with the Gulf-Zeta organization. Los Zetas, (Spanish: “the Zs”) Mexican crime syndicate formed in 1997 as the enforcement arm of the drug-trafficking Gulf Cartel; it broke away as an independent organized criminal enterprise in 2010. Violence spiked after the now rival cartels fractured in late 2009. By 2015, authorities arrested El Lic Meme during another labor union fight inside a building owned by the CROC union in downtown Monterrey. Along with El Vaquero, El Contador has presence in the Matamoros plaza. Los Zetas did not begin as a drug trafficking organization, but as the enforcement branch of the Gulf Cartel. Los Zetas is indeed the worst Mexican drug cartel in history. [185], Following the conflict with the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas joined forces with the Beltrán Leyva Cartel (who was simultaneously separating from the Sinaloa Cartel) as well as the Juarez Cartel and Tijuana Cartel or Arellano Félix organization, to counteract the alliance of the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Michoacana cartels. [193][194], In October 2008, the FBI warned that a Zetas' cell in Texas would engage law enforcement with a full tactical response, should law enforcement attempt to intervene in their operations. Their network is international, and are believed to have dealings with … [191] The accusation included allegations that EL Aissami had trafficked drugs to Los Zetas. [163] On 7 November 2011, 650 policemen were released from their duties because they had either failed or refused "corruption control tests."[164]. [109], On 9 April 2019,[110] José Roberto Stolberg Becerra, also known as "La Barbie," was arrested in Jalisco. The size of Los Zetas remained uncertain, with estimates ranging from several dozen to several thousand. [citation needed], After Osiel Cárdenas Guillén took control of the Gulf Cartel in 1997, he found himself in a violent turf war. [65], Reports vary as to who triggered the formal split and why. [173], Indications of the broken alliance between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas began in September 2009. Los Zetas members may also possess a "Los Zetas Commando Medallion" for their service to the organization. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. [150] Consequently, the federal government assigned the Mexican Army and the Federal Police to guard some prisons until further notice; they were also left in charge of searching for the fugitives. The Zetas split from the Gulf cartel and by 2008 had operations in 28 major Mexican cities, according to an analysis by Grupo Savant, a Washington-based security think tank. They are splinter groups ('grupúsculos'), not big operators. The violence is said to have derived from the breaking of an agreement which was made between the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas. As a result of this imbalance, the Cartel tried to curtail their own enforcers' influence and ended up instigating a civil war. [152], On 17 September 2012 in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, more than 130 inmates from Los Zetas organized a massive prison break in broad daylight by walking directly from the front gate to several trucks outside the prison. [181] In the midst of violence and panic, local authorities and media tried to minimize the situation and claimed that "nothing was occurring," but the facts were impossible to cover up. In the process, Los Zetas developed a reputation for violence and brutality. According to a US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on organized crime and drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, The Gulf cartel, based in Tamaulipas, was considered the most powerful drug trafficking organization when President Calderon took office in December 2006. The Gulf Cartel is one of the oldest and most powerful of Mexico’s criminal groups but has lost territory and influence in recent years to its rivals, including its former enforcer wing, the Zetas.In the cartel’s heyday, its boss, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, was considered the country’s most powerful underworld leader, and the Zetas the most feared gang. [101], In a May 2013 interview with the International Crisis Group, researcher Daniel Haering stated, "The old networks were disrupted by the Zetas, and now the Zetas have disintegrated into Zetillas. [166], In the early 2010s, analysts indicated that Los Zetas were the largest organized crime group in Mexico in terms of geographical presence. In response, Los Zetas began to recruit more widely and, among others, brought in former Guatemalan special forces soldiers. [146] The federal government condemned the mass prison break and stated that the work by the state and municipal authorities of Tamaulipas lack effective control measures, and urged them to strengthen their institutions. [37] In addition to conducting criminal activities along the border, they operate throughout the Gulf of Mexico, in the southern states of Tabasco, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, and Chiapas, and in the Pacific Coast states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Michoacán, as well as in Mexico City. Though weakened, the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas also remain key actors in large swaths of Coahuila and Nuevo Léon, two border states just west of Tamaulipas. According to InSight Crime, the Gulf Cartel used to be one of the most powerful gangs in Mexico, but has lost territory to rivals, including Los Zetas (InSight Crime 10 Mar. Jose Carlos Hinojosa, a former accountant for the cartel… The emergence and evolution of Los Zetas can be understood as both a symptom and a cause of the militarization of the Mexican drug wars. Hell in Tamaulipas: Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas and CDN, the deadly dispute for the border. [165] In September 2005 testimony to the Mexican Congress from the then-Defense Secretary Clemente Vega, indicated that the Zetas had also hired at least 30 former Kaibiles from Guatemala to train new recruits because the number of former Mexican special forces men in their ranks had shrunk. Like the Sinaloa Cartel, the Tijuana cartel is said to have formed when the head of the Guadalajara cartel was captured in 1989. Los Zetas have also carried out multiple massacres and attacks on civilians and rival cartels, such as: In addition, sources reveal that Los Zetas may also be responsible for: By 2011 only 10 of the original 34 zetas remained fugitives,[94] and to this day most of them have either been killed or captured by the Mexican law enforcement and military forces. The negros and Pelones, two enforcer gangs, were established by the Sinaloa in response to the Gulf Cartel’s Zetas. This drug cartel is divided into two rival groups: the Northeast Cartel and Old School Zetas. Most of the leaders of the Gulf Cartel have been captured or killed, including Osiel Cardenas Guillen, Mario Alberto Cardenas Guillen, Antonio Cardenas Guillen and Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [131] On 30 January 2012, the Attorney General of Mexico issued a communiqué ordering the governors and their families to remain in the country as they are being investigated for possible collaboration with cartels. [134][135], In Tampico, Mayor Óscar Pérez Inguanzo was arrested on 12 November 2011 due to his "improper exercise of public functions and forgery" of certain documents. This capo was released in October 2020 after several stints in prison. The Gulf Cartel has a solid hold on a swath of the country on the northeast coast (see map here), providing both access to the US and a port for receiving shipments. [117] Salcido Cisneros was the leader of the “Tropa del Infierno,” a group of hitmen under the direction of the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) fraction of Los Zetas. Arturo Guzmán Decena, and this group formed the core of Los Zetas. [125], After the PRI lost power to the National Action Party (PAN) in the 2000 presidential election, all the "agreements" between the previous government and the cartels were lost along with the pax mafiosa. Last but not least is the Tijuana Cartel: The Tijuana cartel, led by the Arellano-Felix family, has operations in 15 states. [22][27] In February 2010, Los Zetas broke away and formed their own criminal organization, rivalling the Gulf Cartel. [144][145] In Nuevo Laredo, on 17 December 2010, 141 inmates escaped from a federal prison. [126][127] Tamaulipas was no exception; according to PAN politician Santiago Creel, the PRI in Tamaulipas had been protecting the Gulf-Zeta organization for years. [76][77] Lazcano was initially content to have Morales in his ranks, but reportedly gave Morales too much power and underestimated his violent nature. [176] Soon, the war reached Tamaulipas' neighboring states of Nuevo León and Veracruz. [36][53], The Zetas' membership ranges from corrupt federal, state, and local police officers, and former U.S. Army personnel,[54][55][56] to ex-Kaibiles, the special forces of the Guatemalan military. The Zetas split from the Gulf Cartel to form a rival cartel in 2010. ", "Migrantes, 72 muertos de fosa en Tamaulipas", "Sin resolver origen de narcofosas en Tamaulipas", "Asesinan a Rodolfo Torre Cantú, candidato al gobierno de Tamaulipas", "Tamaulipas: 'Failed state' in Mexico's war on drugs", "Mexico's PRI Names Presidential Candidate", "Hay pruebas sobre nexos de priistas con narco: PAN", "Blindaje contra narcopolíticos en Tamaulipas", "Busca PGR contra 3 ex gobernadores de Tamaulipas", "PGR emitió alerta migratoria contra tres ex gobernadores de Tamaulipas", "Mexican cartels paid $4.5 million in political bribes", "Former Tamaulipas governor named in Texas money laundering case", "Arrestan nuevamente a Óscar Pérez Inguanzo, ex alcalde de Tampico", "Ciudadana graba evidencias de balaceras en Tamaulipas", "La violencia nos rebasó, acepta Eugenio Hernández", "Alcalde admite psicosis por violencia en Reynosa", "Un comando libera a trece prisioneros de un penal de Reynosa", "85 reos escaparon del penal de Reynosa, precisa el gobierno", "Al menos 71 reos se fugan de un penal de Reynosa, en Tamaulipas", "Al menos 148 presos se escapan de una cárcel de Tamaulipas", "Tamaulipas cesa a directivos de penal por la fuga de los 141 reos", "Al menos siete muertos y 59 reos fugados en una cárcel de Nuevo Laredo", "Tras las fugas de reos en Tamaulipas, el gobierno federal se defiende", "Se fugan 59 reos en Nuevo Laredo tras enfrentamiento", "Más de 400 reos se fugaron de cárceles de Tamaulipas en 14 meses", "Zetas Drug Cartel Arranged Prison Break, Say Officials", "Se fugan al menos 130 presos del Cereso de Piedras Negras", "Policías de Tamaulipas ganan 3 mil 618 pesos", "Policías de Tamaulipas, los peores pagados de México; ganan menos de 4 mil pesos al mes", "Policías de Tamaulipas aun no son confiables: Lomelí", "Acusan a estados de incumplir homologación salarial policiaca", "México enviará más Fuerzas Armadas a Nuevo León y Tamaulipas", "Sedena desarma a policías de Tamaulipas", "El gobierno de México desplegará 2,790 militares en Tamaulipas", "Tropas mexicanas reemplazan a los policías en la mitad de Tamaulipas", "Batallones son parte de la estrategia de seguridad", "Expulsan a mil 650 policías de Tamaulipas por pérdida de confianza", "2011 National Gang Threat Assessment – Emerging Trends", "Brutal Mexican drug gang crosses into U.S.", "Guatemala levanta el estado de sitio motivado por 'Los Zetas' en 2010", "talia – 'Violencia' se escribe con ZETA: Los zetas toman el control por la forza. 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