Los Zetas

Los Zetas
  Los Zetas
Founded byOsiel Cárdenas Guillén,[1]
Arturo Guzmán Decena
Founding locationTamaulipas
Years active1997–present
TerritoryMexico:
Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Chiapas, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Michoacán, State of México

Rest of North America:
United States, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua

South America:
Colombia, Peru, Panama, and Venezuela[2]

Europe:
Balkans, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, European Union, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
EthnicityMulti-ethnic, but mainly Mexican and Latino
Membership (est.)20,000–50,000
Leader(s)Maxiley Barahona Nadales
Criminal activitiesDrug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking, murder, rape, kidnapping, racketeering, extortion, arson, hacking, video piracy, prostitution, theft[3][4][5][6][7][8]
AlliesTijuana Cartel
Juárez Cartel
'Ndrangheta
Los Mazatlecos
Barrio Azteca
MS-13[9]
Texas Syndicate
Gangster Disciples
Triad[10]
The Office of Envigado
La Linea
Hezbollah[11][12][13][14]
Sicilian Mafia[15]
Camorra
Cartel of the Suns
Los Zetas Group Bravo
RivalsSinaloa Cartel[16]
Knights Templar Cartel
Jalisco New Generation Cartel
Gulf Cartel
DEA

Los Zetas (pronounced [los ˈsetas], Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, known as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels.[17][18][19][20][21] They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indiscriminate murder.[22] While primarily concerned with drug trafficking, the organization also ran profitable sex and gun rackets.[23] Los Zetas also operated through protection rackets, assassinations, extortion, kidnappings and other illegal activities.[24] The organization was based in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, directly across the border from Laredo, Texas.[25] The origins of Los Zetas date back to the late 1990s, when commandos of the Mexican Army deserted their ranks and began working as the enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel.[22][26] In February 2010, Los Zetas broke away and formed their own criminal organization, rivalling the Gulf Cartel.[27][28]

They were at one point Mexico's largest and most expansive drug cartel in terms of geographical presence, overtaking their rivals, the Sinaloa Cartel, in physical territory.[29] However, since the mid/late 2010s Los Zetas has become fragmented and seen its influence diminish, with most factions absorbed by their regional opposition or eliminated.[30] As of March 2016, Grupo Bravo (Bravo Group), Los Talibanes (The Talibans), and Zetas Vieja Escuela (Old School Zetas) have formed an alliance with the Gulf Cartel against Cártel del Noreste (Cartel of the Northeast).[31] Another splinter group was formed also named Sangre Nueva Zeta (New Blood Zeta), allying themselves with the Jalisco Cartel as an armed wing. In March 2019, Texas Republican congressman Chip Roy introduced a bill that would list the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas, Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Gulf Cartel as foreign terrorist organizations. Former United States President Donald Trump had also expressed interest in designating cartels as terrorist organizations.[32] However such plans were halted at the request of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.[33]

  1. ^ Vulliamy, Ed (14 November 2009). "The Zetas: gangster kings of their own brutal narco-state". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  2. ^ "4 de los carteles mexicanos operan en Panamá: Autoridades". Insight Crime. 27 March 2017.
  3. ^ Grillo, Ioan (31 July 2013). "The Mexican Drug Cartels' Other Business: Sex Trafficking". Time.
  4. ^ "Zetas". 4 April 2012.
  5. ^ Booth, William (29 May 2011). "Drug cartels muscle in to piracy business" – via The Washington Post.
  6. ^ Allen, Nick (16 July 2013). "Mexico's 'most sadistic' drug kingpin's reign ends without a shot fired". Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 – via The Daily Telegraph.
  7. ^ Tuckman, Jo (4 September 2010). "Tortured Mexican kidnap victim says: 'I would sit there wondering how people could be that bad'". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "Pay de Limón, the Dog that Survived the Torture of the Los Zetas Cartel". Vallarta Daily News. 13 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Zetas and MS-13 Join Forces in Guatemala". Foxnews.com. 7 April 2012.
  10. ^ "Organized Crime Exploits China's Growing Links to Latin America". Jamestown.org. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Coked Up: How Hezbollah is fundraising with Mexican drug cartels - The Commentator". Thecommentator.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  12. ^ "The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook". Politico. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Iran and Hezbollah's Presence Around the World". Lawfare. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Analysis: Hezbollah's presence in Donald Trump's backyard". Al Arabiya English. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ "The Business Relationship Between Italy's Mafia and Mexico's Drug Cartels". Insightcrime.org. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  16. ^ Ioan Grillo (2012). El Narco: The Bloody Rise of Mexican Drug Cartels. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 336. ISBN 978-1408824337.
  17. ^ Ware, Michael (6 August 2009). "Los Zetas called Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel". CNN. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  18. ^ "Narco Terms". Borderland Beat. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  19. ^ Pachico, Elyssa (27 March 2017). "Why Kidnapping, Extortion Boomed in Mexico".
  20. ^ Crime, InSight (27 March 2017). "Zetas".
  21. ^ Robbins, Seth (27 March 2017). "Murder Spotlights Zetas Extortion at Mexico University".
  22. ^ a b Stastna, Kazi (28 August 2011). "The cartels behind Mexico's drug war". CBS News. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  23. ^ "A Profile of Los Zetas: Mexico's Second Most Powerful Drug Cartel – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point". 16 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  24. ^ McCAUL, MICHAEL T. "A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border" (PDF). HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  25. ^ "Dissecting a Mexican Cartel Bombing in Monterrey". Stratfor. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  26. ^ Grant, Will (11 September 2012). "Mexico's Zetas drug gang split raises bloodshed fears". BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  27. ^ "Weekend shootouts in northeastern Mexico kill at least 9". CNN News. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  28. ^ "El origen de 'Los Zetas': brazo armado del cártel del Golfo". CNN México. 5 July 2011. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013.
  29. ^ "Zetas Now Mexico's Biggest Cartel, Report Says". Fox News Channel. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  30. ^ "The Rise and Fall of Los Zetas". 13 October 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  31. ^ "Proceso: Fracción de Los Zetas, ahora Cártel del Noreste, advierte masacre por extradiciones". Proceso. Revista Proceso. 16 March 2016. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  32. ^ "Rep. Chip Roy Releases Bill Asking Sec. Pompeo to Designate Cartels Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)". 12 March 2019.
  33. ^ "Trump halts plan to treat cartels as terrorists". BBC News. 7 December 2019.