The traditional cartels buy off politicians, establish traffic routes for smuggling and make money. Los Zetas' Brutal Business Model 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 witness said that the commanders kidnapped him and his two superiors until they paid what they owed for the seized load of marijuana. Locals also reported of the many corpses found in the Cauca River, which runs through Cali. In this ghastly murder, the CDN faction appears to have struck first murdering the relatives of a state police officer and a farmers union leader. 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. On Tuesday, Rodriguez testified about a bloody massacre involving more than 300 people. Former Los Zetas worker: I was forced to witness brutal killings The gunmen used a large hammer to break down the door before storming the house shooting indiscriminately at the women and children inside. Multiple witnesses have testified that Millan-Vasquez controlled the region of Piedras Negras for Los Zetas and is responsible for hundreds of killings and disappearances. 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). Writing for the Los Angeles Times, William R. Long dubbed the Cali cartel as "Colombia's Gentlemen Cocaine Traffickers." 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. Mexico's CJNG Following 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. Los Zetas was described by the US government in 2009 as "the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico". If a debtor refused, Escobar deployed his team of lethal "sicarios.". WARNING GRAPHIC: The Most Brutal Murders Linked to El Chapo He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. Reyna discovered that his son's co-worker and girlfriend were also missing. Alliances were formed on both sides, with the BLO allying with Los Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel working with the Gulf and Familia Michoacana cartels (via Insight Crime). It was one of the deadliest attacks ever on Mexican In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. Groups like Los Zetas have also been known to operate abroad, buying raw materials from Argentina and operating in Asian countries like Malaysia. When it was In 2006, severalLa Familia hit men, who said they had a "divine right" to kill, dumped five severed heads on a dance floor, yet this didn't alienate them in the public eye (via Insider/Insight Crime). Today, the cartel retains a small presence in southern Mexico. With countless reports emerging of mayors and cops across Mexico collaborating with the cartels, it appears tragically unsurprising that many who knew the truth were either put into hiding or killed to keep them quiet. The load belonged to De Leon. Elizabeth Shell. Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberments and other gory executions. Authorities had been notified of missing passengers from Highway 101 on May 24 and May 29, with soldiers following a tip that led them to the La Joya ranch a few miles off the road. The following facts also illustrate the reality that an immediate defeat of the drug cartel may be far from feasible. 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. Jesus Gonzalez/AFP/Getty ImagesFollowing the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, Federal Highway 101 was colloquially dubbed the highway of death or the devils road.. The import of this for the American people is that no matter what measures the US government takes to destroy the vast network of drug smuggling within the country, the effort may be fruitless, as it is no longer a case of fighting a foreign entity. Her work has been featured in various national and international media outlets, including the Guardian, PBS, NPR and Marie Claire. During the late '70s and 1980s, the Sinaloa Cartel worked with the Medellin cartel, establishing lucrative cocaine routes to the United States that spanned land, sea and air. Mexico's largest and most powerful drug gangs are the Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel. 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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. With the Medellin leader gone, Insider noted how the rival Cali cartel took the reins of Colombia's booming cocaine industry. newsletter for analysis you wont find anywhereelse. This essay provides an overview of those incidents of torture and beheadings linked to the Mexican cartels and their mercenary and gang affiliates taking place both within Mexico and the United States. You can contact her at [emailprotected]. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/sadist-los-zetas-cartel-set-brutal-standard-in-drug-war, according to this graphic by the National Post, Mexican Marines Kill Drug Lord Known as The Executioner. 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. Several other executions and attacks during the weekend brought the total number of casualties to 19 and close to 24 wounded by gunfire. There have been several criminal organizations in the world that have perpetrated destructive acts against humanity without any form of military training, either formal or informal. They ordered the informant be killed along with anyone and everyone associated with him. SAN ANTONIO, Texas - In San Antonio today, a federal judge sentenced 34-year-old Marciano Millan Vasquez, a high ranking member and a former sicario for the Los Zetas drug cartel, to seven consecutive life imprisonment sentences for committing and aiding and abetting the commission of numerous murders and other acts of violence, This wasnt the first time such a tragedy had visited San Fernando. De Leon is now cooperating with authorities. Perhaps the most heinous La Linea crime occurred in Bavispe, where the group attacked a Mormon family inNovember 2019, killing nine people including several children, according to ABC. More terrifying is their ease of operations in countries like the US. De Leon said that his two superiors were let go after they paid, but that he didn't have the $100,000 the cartel needed. Drug cartels influencing politics paints a picture of total disaster. Cartel: Los Zetas During his peak in the mid-1980s, Escobar established a debt collection service called "Oficina de Envigado," which was based in the town hall of Envigado. They were forcibly recruited and haven't been paid or fed by their bosses. Cartel leader who dismembered six-year-old girl 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. Based in the western state ofMichoacn, La Familia Michoacana is known for its history of violence as well as its quasi-religious trappings (via Insight Crime). Not only are groups like Los Zetas interested in influencing politics, but Mexican politicians are equally interested in the dividends of the drug trade. To set the records straight, Los Zetas was formed by Mexican ex-military men. 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. De Leon said that during his captivity, he witnessed Zetas commanders dismember people while they were still alive and throw the body parts into a flaming barrel. In 2017, the Mexican government extradited Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, a He also forced captured Mexican migrants into gladiatorial fights to the death. Facebook beheading video: Who was Mexico's Jane Doe? - BBC 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. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. He said that officers escorted him to remote locations to deliver guns to Millan-Vasquez on more than one occasion. At times [he inflicted] the cruellest of pain, forcing relatives to watch their loved ones murdered before he turned his blades on them, said Mr Durbin. 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. 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. Los Zetas cartel members and San Fernando Massacre suspects being presented to the press on June 30, 2011. However, Insight Crime suggests that the large traditional cartels may be over as Mexico's criminal underworld becomes increasingly fragmented and scattershot. He claimed that the drugs came from the Zetas "comandantes" or commanders, which included Millan-Vasquez. The two men who were also gunned down have been identified as Cruz Felipe Pizana Saldivar and Angel Carrizales Amaya. The Los Zetas cartel gunmen even executed the family dog. Who knows what is going on in American Samoa. (Watch our piece Mexican Marines Kill Drug Lord Known as The Executioner.). Tributes to the 2011 San Fernando Massacre. Families across Mexico reported that relatives had disappeared after boarding passenger buses bound for the Texas-Mexico border. The gang often kidnaps and holds poor migrants who try to operate outside the system for ransom. Mexicos National Human Rights Commission estimated that 20,000 migrants were abducted in 2010, alone. While older cartels were more interested in smuggling drugs than anything else, Los Zetas apparently has its sights set on any type of crime that translates into quick and steady cash. 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. Then, in December 2015, Insider reported that La Familia founderCarlos Rosales Mendoza was found dead baring torture wounds. Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, has a reputation as a hotbed for drug smuggling and violence. 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. Cartel: Los Zetas "The first time [I was kidnapped], they took me with a group of about seven people. In the end, the legacy of the 2011 San Fernando Massacre is one of blood money, corruption, and wanton murder. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy, Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead, People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad, An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel, Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai, People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California, Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu, A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California.