WebIn August 2011, armed men affiliated with the Zetas cartel set fire to a casino in the Mexican city of Monterrey, killing 52 people. 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. If their relatives do not pay for their release, they may be killed and dumped into mass graves. Countries militaries are dedicated to defense from external aggression and the protection of peoples lives and properties. Please notify us by email that the article will be republished at, Abbott Wants to Deny Undocumented Kids a Public Education, Border Security Is a Financial Black Hole that Will Consume Us All, Two Executions, Many Questions about Mental Health, Innocence, Remembering a Social Justice Lawyer Extraordinaire. Shortly after the brutal execution, the CDN faction of the Los Zetas struck once more. Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. 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. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, William R. Long dubbed the Cali cartel as "Colombia's Gentlemen Cocaine Traffickers." The gunmen used a large hammer to break down the door before storming the house shooting indiscriminately at the women and children inside. They immediately went to war with the Los Zetas and proudly claimed responsibility for a swathe of mass killings, including the massacre of 15 Mexican cops in a single ambush. There are a handful of drug cartels in Mexico, most of which run almost like corporations. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless, Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican, A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California, A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho, Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open, Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally, A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. On March 13, 2013, De Leon and his father were apprehended by Border Patrol agents about three miles from the border near Comstock, TX. The military gunned four Zetas members down, before capturing nine others and finding five abducted passengers inside the ranch. She released videos of her beheading the caught zeta members herself. Melissa is a 2016-17 Lannan Fellow at The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. 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. [9] Local police rounded up migrants traveling by bus and handed them over to the gang. Officials are still counting the dead, but, as of this writing, the bodies numbered nearly 200. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia, The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. With Americans running the organization, winning the war against Los Zetas would be much more difficult. They were the victims of a brutal new evolution in Mexican cartel violence. According to reports in the BBC and Insight Crime, the latest cartel trend is the fragmentation of the drug trafficking landscape, especially in Mexico. Border / Cartel ChroniclesBreitbart TexasCartel ChroniclesCartel ViolenceCDNCiudad VictoriaGrupo BravoLos ZetasVieja Escuela. 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. Cartel: Los Zetas 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. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. De Leon said that Millan-Vasquez would smile and laugh as he performed these killings. With all this being said, the power and brutality of the gang seem to be waning. 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. Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. On Aug. 24, 2010, however, Mexican Armed Forces unearthed the bodies of 72 undocumented immigrants who were simply executed. Several other executions and attacks during the weekend brought the total number of casualties to 19 and close to 24 wounded by gunfire. He said that they spoke over the phone every day. When prosecutors asked De Leon if "Chano" was in the courtroom, the witness stood up and scanned the courtroom for close to three minutes, before pointing at Millan-Vasquez. 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. Mexican government security spokesman Eduardo Sanchez (C) speaks during a press conference, accompanied by Mexican Navy General Jorge Victor (L) and Mexican Army General Martin Terrones (R) to present details of the military operation in which Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, the alleged drug lord behind the cartel Los Zetas, was arrested. 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. It was found in Webb County, near the border city of Laredo. 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. In the early 1990s, El Chapo steered the Sinaloa Cartel to dominance through his use of tunnel smuggling and widespread bribes. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, has a reputation as a hotbed for drug smuggling and violence. In the 1990s, the aforementioned Cali cartel took the mantle from their Medellin rivals, becoming the most powerful cartel in the world. 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. Los Zetas was formed in 1997 to serve as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel. Graphic from a 2011 NDIC national drug threat assessment. Families across Mexico reported that relatives had disappeared after boarding passenger buses bound for the Texas-Mexico border. Most are extorted and let go or sold into prostitution. De Leon will serve time in jail after pleading guilty to a marijuana charge. According to court testimony, from 2007 through 2011, Chavarria oversaw the shipment of enormous quantities of cocaine between Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, and Eagle Pass, Texas on behalf of the Los Zetas Cartel, in which he was a high-ranking member. In this pivotal year, Zetas occupied territory in 405 Mexican municipalities, which Insight Crime found was more than double that of their biggest rivals. WebLos Zetas is a powerful Mexican drug cartel that has made special use of fear to achieve its business goals. Information obtained from authorities points to the victims being at the wrong place at the wrong time. 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. You can contact her at [emailprotected]. 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. Drug cartels influencing politics paints a picture of total disaster. Mexico's largest and most powerful drug gangs are the Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel. 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. 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. Officials exhuming the bodies noticed that many bore the marks of blunt trauma. Specific forms of torture are discussed as well as the most likely victims and perpetrators. Then, learn about the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. Then, on April 21, 2011, police arrested San Fernandos police chief and got a little closer to the truth. The killings could be a warning and a way of depriving the smugglers of their livelihoods. 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. This article was written by M.A. 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 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. More terrifying is their ease of operations in countries like the US. However, despite these smaller groups' threat to the Guerrero and Morelosstates, the Beltrn-Leyva Organization is merely a trace of its former self. 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. Its origins are traced toEl Milenio, a group that was allied to the Tijuana cartel. The office's purpose was to collect debts from Escobar's extensive trafficking network. 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. Moraless most preferred method of killing was to stuff victims in oil barrels and set them ablaze. 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. In August 2017, the cartel kidnapped 17 people and kept them in a stash house in Nuevo Laredo. Months after the casino attack, 49 decapitated bodies were dumped on a Monterrey highway (via Insight Crime/The World). 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). The Texas Observer is known for its fiercely independent, uncompromising work which we are pleased to provide to the public at no charge in this space. Consequently, several Mexican cities such as Los Cabos, Tijuana, and Acapulco have recorded some of the highest murder rates in the world, according toStatista. 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.. Los Zetas operates in 17 states, while Sinaloa operates in 16 states. 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 two men who were also gunned down have been identified as Cruz Felipe Pizana Saldivar and Angel Carrizales Amaya. Rather than prioritizing corruption like its competitors, Los Zetas has preferred to use paramilitary violence to seize territory and intimidate rivals, according toInsight Crime. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty ImagesSan Fernando woman Alma Miriam Ruiz holding a photo of her daughter Dalia missing since 2010. Cartel: Los Zetas Jesus Gonzalez/AFP/Getty ImagesFollowing the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, Federal Highway 101 was colloquially dubbed the highway of death or the devils road.. With nearly all of the bodies lacking identification, authorities transported them to the Matamoros morgue for family members to hopefully identify. 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. WebThe Most Brutal Execution Methods Reportedly Used By Mexican Cartels Beheading By Chainsaw. This time around, the horrific body count eclipsed all expectations with 193 people rotting in 47 mass graves. Among these provincial traders and smugglers wasJoaqun Guzmn Loera, better known as "El Chapo.". 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. While police arrested 76 suspects, including senior Los Zeta member Martin El Kilo Estrada, there was no victory there. There is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. One former member of the cartel told the court Millan-Vasquez had taken part in a 2011 massacre in which up to 300 people were allegedly kidnapped, with many never seen again. 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. With population of 60,000, San Fernando is near the Texas border and epitomizes cartel carnage. Attorney Jeff Blackburn, a crusader for the innocent, fought injustices across Texas in his improbable, utterly original, and often profane life. In the human smuggling business, migrants pay $100 to $200 upfront, then pay the rest once theyve reached the United States. 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. The cartel can trace its roots to the 1960s and '70s, when farming families entered the marijuana business. Curiously, no bus line reported their buses or passengers missing. [6] Mexican drug cartels are currently operating in 47 countries around the world, including Colombia, Guatemala, and others. 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. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics In April 2019, CJNG killed 14 people in Minatitlan, a Zetas territory. As the cartel made connections across Mexico and the world, their death toll increased exponentially. Britannicawriter Richard J. Samuels defines cartels as, "An illicit consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition and control the production and distribution of illegal drugs," adding that cartels are, "extremely well-organized, well-financed, efficient, and ruthless." Extortion, smuggling, torture, possible harvesting of human body parts. The video shows four women on their knees in a field, their hands tied behind their backs. WebThere is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin, Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. "[The government] told me not to go asking questions about my son. 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