Infighting in Los Zetas

Infighting in Los Zetas
Part of Mexican drug war

All Los Zetas territories ( in green ), in total 14 territories
Date1 June 2012 – present
Location
Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, Mexico
Status

Ongoing

  • Foundation of the Cartel of the Northeast
Belligerents

Faction of Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano (until 2012)

Cartel of the Northeast (from 2014)

Faction of Miguel Treviño Morales (until 2013)

Old School Los Zetas (from 2014)

Faction of Iván Velázquez Caballero (until 2012)

Faction of Jorge Iván Hernández Cantù (until 2016)

Faction of Juan Pedro Salvador Saldívar Farias (until 2016)
Commanders and leaders

Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano  †

Juan Gerardo Treviño Morales  (POW)
Agustin Ordorica Lopez		 Miguel Treviño Morales  (POW)

Iván Velázquez Caballero  (POW)

Jorge Iván Hernández Cantù  (POW)

Juan Pedro Salvador Saldivar Farias  (POW)
Casualties and losses
454 deaths[1][2][3]

The infighting in Los Zetas occurred between two factions, one led by Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano (alias El Lazca) and the other led by Miguel Treviño Morales (alias Z-40). The rumors of the split appeared in mid-2012, when public banners and music videos on the web alleged betrayals between the two leaders. After the death of Lazcano it was confirmed that the leaders were not confronting each other, but rather that some men within Morales' faction did not want him as leader.[4]

The split of Los Zetas began in 2010 when a regional leader of the organization disobeyed orders and killed nearly 200 people in the northeastern Mexican city of San Fernando, Tamaulipas. In August 2011, several low-level Zeta members committed arson in a casino in northern Mexico in retaliation for the owner's failure to pay for "protection"; 52 people were killed. The massacre was among the deadliest in the Mexican drug war. The mastermind of the attack turned out to be a mid-level leader who had carried out the attack without the approval of the top echelon. In mid-2012, a regional cell disobeyed Morales' commands and dumped 49 decapitated bodies on a roadside; Morales had ordered his henchmen to abandon the bodies in a city's main square and not outside the city limits.

Unlike other traditional criminal organizations in Mexico, a large portion of Los Zetas’ income comes from local operations. Drug trafficking makes up at least 50% of their revenue (other sources say less).[5] The Zetas were more prone to activities such as kidnapping, extortion, theft and piracy. This decentralized structure opened the gang to internal splits, given the influence of low-level and regional leaders.

  1. ^ "UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program". ucdp.uu.se. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  2. ^ "UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program". ucdp.uu.se. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  3. ^ "UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program". ucdp.uu.se. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  4. ^ Vega, Aurora (11 October 2012). "Al cadáver se lo llevó Z-40; la caída de El Lazca fue fortuita, aceptan". Excélsior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference inevitable was invoked but never defined (see the help page).