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. Brutality and inhumanity are the most noticeable traits of drug cartels all over the world, but Los Zetas has taken them to a new high. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics 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. How could such a tragedy occur in San Fernando not once but repeatedly? 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. Since 2011, there have been numerous scandals exposing the collusion between politicians and drug cartels. Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed. According to World Atlas, Tijuana had the highest homicide rate in the world in 2020, with 138 murder per 100,000 residents. 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. Somewhere near San Fernando, which lies on the interstate to Matamoros, the buses were hijacked, and convoys of armed men snatched passengers. De Leon said that Millan-Vasquez would smile and laugh as he performed these killings. 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. Several other executions and attacks during the weekend brought the total number of casualties to 19 and close to 24 wounded by gunfire. The group was originally made up of 34 Mexican Special Forces soldiers. Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. Victims were piled on top of one another haphazardly before the cartel used a backhoe to cover up their resting place. 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. He said that cartel members kidnapped him again and held him captive for 13 days until he found the money. Whatever the motivations, the mass killings show just how little control the federal government exerts over Tamaulipas. She was known for being the crazy white one. [8] Los Zetas has been linked to several other mass murders in Mexico. In this pivotal year, Zetas occupied territory in 405 Mexican municipalities, which Insight Crime found was more than double that of their biggest rivals. Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, has a reputation as a hotbed for drug smuggling and violence. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. He sent soldiers into San Fernando after the massacre to protect migrants and Mexican families, but they soon withdrew unlike the cartels. Los Zetas is a powerful Mexican drug cartel that has made special use of fear to achieve its business goals. Melissa is a 2016-17 Lannan Fellow at The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. However, recently, theyve taken their drug manufacturing activities to highly advanced countries like the United States. Exposed by a Zetas member under a pseudonym, the details of the bus vanishings remain disputed. When it was If the lawmakers are puppets to drug cartels, then there is very little hope that the war against the cartels will be won. 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. The kidnapping and murder of the SEIDO agents resembles the type of actions of another infamous Mexican crime group, the Zetas. Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. While police arrested 76 suspects, including senior Los Zeta member Martin El Kilo Estrada, there was no victory there. 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 gunmen used a large hammer to break down the door before storming the house shooting indiscriminately at the women and children inside. 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. Los Zetas is a criminal gang that manufactures and smuggles illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana, among others. 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. 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. Abstract. What should we expect from a heartless criminal organization put together by ex-military men? 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. When Osiel Cardenas Guillen took over as the leader of the Gulf Cartel, it was in the midst of a violent turf war. Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano (aka The Executioner) Yarrington is reported to have allowed the Gulf and Los Zetas cartels to operate in his state without hindrance in return for bribes. Then, in May, SinEmbargo reported that the cartel had destroyed a military helicopter with an RPG, killing 5 soldiers. De Leon is now cooperating with authorities. The implication of this is that Los Zetas continues to bolster its criminal operations through nontraditional and unexpected means. According to reports in the BBC and Insight Crime, the latest cartel trend is the fragmentation of the drug trafficking landscape, especially in Mexico. Put in pairs and given sledgehammers, they were forced to fight each other. Elizabeth Shell The cartels brutal murders came to a head under the leadership of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales. The winners got to become Zetas recruits, while the losers got death. Months after the casino attack, 49 decapitated bodies were dumped on a Monterrey highway (via Insight Crime/The World). In and around Cali if the mafia doesn't like you, you just disappear.". In April 2019, CJNG killed 14 people in Minatitlan, a Zetas territory. The CJNG split from the Sinaloa Cartel after the killing of Ignacio Coronel, a capo whose death caused a power vacuum(via Insight Crime). 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. 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.". Elizabeth Shell. 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. Then, in December 2015, Insider reported that La Familia founderCarlos Rosales Mendoza was found dead baring torture wounds. 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. 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. Imagine how tragic it would be for such a respected and honored organization to become an evil one like Los Zetas. To make matters worse, the gang is also into migrant smuggling. 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. At this juncture, it is safe and reasonable to conclude that Los Zetas is one of the biggest headaches of the American people. Former governor Humberto Moreira was also singled out by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon has having protected Los Zetas in his state. Jesus Gonzalez/AFP/Getty ImagesFollowing the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, Federal Highway 101 was colloquially dubbed the highway of death or the devils road.. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Lazcano was the leader of the Los Zetas cartel. The fact that Los Zetas was able to grow and nurture $2 million worth of marijuana in Texas is quite distressing. 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. Since then, BLO members have either been killed, jailed or defected to new splinter groups, such as the Guerreros Unidos and Los Rojos, which dabble in extortion, kidnapping and lethal violence. 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. As the cartel made connections across Mexico and the world, their death toll increased exponentially. Led by the infamous Pablo Escobar, the Medellin cartel is said to have killed thousands of people, including three Colombian presidential candidates, many judges and over 1,000 police officers (via Biography). Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. If you support this mission, we need your help. 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. On Aug. 24, 2010, however, Mexican Armed Forces unearthed the bodies of 72 undocumented immigrants who were simply executed. Not only does Los Zetas control key drug smuggling routes into the United States, but it now controls much of the illicit trade of sneaking migrant workers to the US. Then, learn about the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. Killed: Oct. 7, 2012 Among the first deaths in the conflict was Edgar Guzman, El Chapo's son. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, William R. Long dubbed the Cali cartel as "Colombia's Gentlemen Cocaine Traffickers." Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. The killings could be a warning and a way of depriving the smugglers of their livelihoods. 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." WebThere is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. WebThe Los Zetas used improvised weapons like knives, rocks, and burning mattresses. They were the victims of a brutal new evolution in Mexican cartel violence. Breitbart Texas Cartel Chroniclesare published in both English and in their originalSpanish. Partners must notify. A red Blackberry phone belonging to De Leon was examined by computer forensics experts with Homeland Security Investigations. With that grim context in mind, here are the most dangerous cartels to ever exist. Millan-Vasquez faces multiple charges, including conspiracy to distribute narcotics, enticing minors to sell drugs, giving a false identification to authorities, and charges for at least nine murders in South Texas and Northern Mexico. The rest of us agreed.". The macabre bloodsport was detailed in The Houston Chronicle. Then, in December 2009, Arturo Beltrn Leyva was killed by Mexican marines. This savagery is nothing new. 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 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). 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. US attorney Richard L Durbin Jr told the court in San Antonio, Texas, the killer had acted "without mercy or compunction". Jalisco New Generation, often referred to as CJNG, is another Mexican cartel that emerged in 2010. Former Zetas members testified Tuesday, claiming the cartel is responsible for a bloody massacre in Piedras Negras in 2011. President Felipe Caldern deployed the military against Mexicos cartels in 2007, and despite $1.6 billion in U.S. support, 35,000 civilians were now dead by 2011, with thousands missing. De Leon will serve time in jail after pleading guilty to a marijuana charge. Los Zetas cartel members and San Fernando Massacre suspects being presented to the press on June 30, 2011. There were only a few bullet casings at the scene, but one sledgehammer and bodies showing blunt trauma to the head. 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. Sadism was their brand. The defendant in this case is Mariano Millan-Vasquez, known to everyone as "Chano." You can contact her at [emailprotected]. 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 frequently supervised killing experiments wherein new recruits were ordered to kill people with a machete or sledgehammer. Picture taken from a TV screen showing Miguel Angel Trevino Morales by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images. All rights reserved. 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. However, despite the logistical sophistication and the massive financial success, the history of cartels is fraught with betrayal, splinter groups, and brutally shortened lives. Their wanton murders leave most civilians in silence. It is practically impossible to list all the atrocities that this extremely violent group has committed.