Osiel Cardenas Guillen He was released from a prison in the US after serving his sentence for drug trafficking and other crimes. Although for justice his debt is settled, for many people in Mexico his footprint will never be erased, because in addition to having been the leader of the Gulf Cartelwas the founder of one of the bloodiest criminal groups in the history of that country: The Zetas.
When Cárdenas Guillén took control of the Gulf Cartel, he decided to create a specialized group of bodyguards, so he contacted a former member of the Mexican Army, who was in charge of recruiting other deserters from the law enforcement forces and they began a recruitment campaign, managing to get other military personnel to leave the ranks of the corporations dedicated to protecting citizens and join theirs, which did the exact opposite.
They were premium escorts, had military training and a thirst for climbing and making money. which surprised everyone, the graffiti on the streets announcing them did not take long to appear, nor did the crimes they committed and the blood they shed. It was 1997 and the desertion of 30 members of the Special Forces Aeromobile Group (GAFE) coincided with the increase in violence in Tamaulipas, confirming that they were now part of organized crime.
According to the newspaper Milenio, the armed wing headed by Arturo Guzman Decenaalias “Z-1”, was not only in charge of protecting Osiel Cárdenas, he also had the task of taking over key squares and territories that would facilitate the shipment and transit of drugs, so his empire began to expand outside of Tamaulipas.
The independence of Los Zetas
While serving the Gulf Cartel, they learned many things related to the world of drug trafficking, which, added to their military training, gave them great power. In addition, Los Zetas were also dedicated to extortion and kidnapping, which had given them a recognized name within organized crime and the possibility of knowing how they could generate their own income.
All The Los Zetas operation changed the rules of organized crime in Mexicounleashing a savagery never seen before, even causing the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to turn its gaze and call them “the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and violent paramilitary group,” according to an article by InSight Crime.
By 2010, in the midst of the war against drugs, that group that began with deserting soldiers became independent from the Gulf Cartel and began its own storyone written in blood, as “they employed a new model of organized crime based on taking and holding territory violently and using fear—instead of corruption—as their main resource,” according to the aforementioned media outlet.
Violence was their hallmark, they advanced quickly and their power was comparable to that of the Sinaloa CartelFor its part, the cartel that saw their birth and empowered them became their rival and the disputes between them were the cause of the growth of violence in Tamaulipas and the Northeast of Mexico, an area that witnessed terrible events.
One of the things that catapulted them to power was the group’s logistical sophistication; they became known for using state-of-the-art weapons and communications equipment, and for employing military discipline in planning their operations and gathering intelligence.
The violence of Los Zetas
Terror is one of the words that characterized the period of time in which Los Zetas had a strong presence in Mexico, they used fear as a weapon to subdue enemies and conquer territories. Massacres, torture, hanging bodieswas something that the cartel left in its wake, writing a bloody history, which had some chapters darker than others.
One of them occurred in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, in August 2010, when 72 immigrants were killed and buried in a pitThose seeking to reach the United States for a better life found death at the hands of the bloodthirsty criminal group, which had already expanded to Guatemala and formed alliances with the underworld of Venezuela, Europe, the United States and West Africa.
By then their power extended even to the prisons in northern Mexico, they had bought off a large part of the municipal police forces and had their support and help.
Thus, with seemingly unlimited power and resources in abundance, the criminal organization operated with impunity. By that time, many of its founders had been killed and arrested, and the ranks of Los Zetas were no longer just military men. Two brutal brothers came to power, Miguel Angel Trevino Moralesalias “Z 40”, and Omar Trevino Moralesknown as “Z 42”, who added even more violence and blood.
Under the command of the Treviño Morales brothers, a massacre occurred in Allende, Coahuila, which marked a moment that was captured in newspaper articles and the Netflix series “Somos,” but which went unnoticed in their country for years.
Following a DEA leak, corrupt Mexican authorities alerted the Treviño Morales brothers, who attacked one of their collaborators, his family and everyone who crossed their path.
Shootings, disappearances, murders and other horrors invaded that town in 2011. Children and adults died or disappeared, there are no real figures on the number of victims, because while the authorities speak of 40, the inhabitants who survived say that they were Around 300 dead and missing.
By 2012, Los Zetas began to fragment, weakening Mexico’s most feared cartel, but the drug trafficking organization with vast transnational reach continued to cause damage during its death throes. Today, the wounds it left behind are not forgotten, and for many, they are still raw.
Continue reading:
– Los Zetas members sentenced to 50 years for massacre of 72 migrants in San Fernando.
– The bloodthirsty leader of Los Zetas who started out as a courier and washing cars for drug traffickers.