Consequently, several Mexican cities such as Los Cabos, Tijuana, and Acapulco have recorded some of the highest murder rates in the world, according toStatista. With that grim context in mind, here are the most dangerous cartels to ever exist. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, William R. Long dubbed the Cali cartel as "Colombia's Gentlemen Cocaine Traffickers." Promotional materials distributed by your outlet, including all social media work, must include cites for the Observer and our reporter. There are a handful of drug cartels in Mexico, most of which run almost like corporations. The Horrific True Story Of The 2011 San Fernando Massacre. Los Zetas control a wide swathe of territory ranging from the Texas border to Guatemala. The cartels have now moved beyond drug violence to murdering busloads of civilians, and the government seems incapable of stopping it. Velazquez started out stealing cars in his hometown of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and was jailed there. Most are extorted and let go or sold into prostitution. In 2017, the Mexican government extradited Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, a So how does Morales, who came into power just last year after his predecessor was shot and killed by authorities and his Los Zetas fit into the underworld that is Mexican cartels? WebCIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamaulipas -- Gunmen with the Los Zetas cartel butchered close to 20 victims over the weekend, three of those victims were Texas residents who had been Prosecutors asked De Leon why it took him so long to point out the defendant. 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. 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. Lazcano died in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. WebZetas behead and dismember four women from the Gulf Cartel. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. What should we expect from a heartless criminal organization put together by ex-military men? The Los Zetas cartel gunmen even executed the family dog. Their operations in Colombia and Guatemala can be taken for granted because these countries have homegrown drug cartel problems of their own. Abstract. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty. With the Medellin leader gone, Insider noted how the rival Cali cartel took the reins of Colombia's booming cocaine industry. Moraless most preferred method of killing was to stuff victims in oil barrels and set them ablaze. Some had been killed by sledgehammer. In the 1990s, the aforementioned Cali cartel took the mantle from their Medellin rivals, becoming the most powerful cartel in the world. The witness said that the commanders kidnapped him and his two superiors until they paid what they owed for the seized load of marijuana. The Juarez cartel is another relatively old organization dating back to the early 1980s (via Insight Crime). To protect himself from harm, Guillen hired a retired Mexican soldier as his bodyguard, who in turn solicited 30 Mexican Army deserters to form the cartels well-paid mercenary wing. 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. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st, The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The rescue was made possible by an anonymous tip about gunmen bringing victims into a house in the Villas de la Fe neighborhood. Los Zetas operates in 17 states, while Sinaloa operates in 16 states. Mexicos National Human Rights Commission estimated that 20,000 migrants were abducted in 2010, alone. Inside The Brutal 1955 Murder Of 14-Year-Old Emmett Till That Galvanized The Civil Rights Movement, 101-Year-Old Woman Who Began Trapping Lobster Before The Great Depression Has No Plans To Retire, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Following the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, Federal Highway 101 was colloquially dubbed the highway of death or the devils road.. Follow @NewsHourWorld 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. WebThe 2011 San Fernando massacre, also known as the second massacre of San Fernando, was the mass murder of 193 people by Los Zetas drug cartel at La Joya ranch in the municipality of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico in March 2011. As the two factions continue their fierce fighting, gunmen from the two groups have taken to social media and banners to deliver threats to each other. In 2018, analystParker Asmann dubbed the Sinaloa Cartel "Mexico's top crime group," despite El Chapo's arrest, trial and eventual detention in the United States. Men were beaten, hacked apart, flung from windows, hanged, and decapitated. Alberto Islas, a Mexico City security analyst whos advised corporations in Tamaulipas, offers a more plausible and chilling motive for the massacres: Its just business. Few rivals could hope of matching Escobar as his cartel controlled80% of the cocaine trade, which involved daily 15-ton shipments to the United States, as detailed in Escobar'sInsight Crimebiography. Put in pairs and given sledgehammers, they were forced to fight each other. It had only been a year since officials in the Mexican city found 72 victims of the Los Zetas drug cartel buried in the dirt. All Rights Reserved. Morales liked to betand bet bigon the horses. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story: This article was originally published by the, Articles cannot be rewritten, edited or changed beyond alignments with house style books. She was known for being the crazy white one. However, according to Insight Crime's profile, the cartel's influence has been compromised by arrests and infighting, limiting their territory to Tijuana, a vital smuggling city on the US-Mexico border. After the group's 1985 murder of DEA agentEnrique Camarena, the US and Mexico closed in on the cartel, causing several leaders to disperse across Mexico, leaving El Chapo and his partnerHctor Luis Palma Salazar as the Sinaloa chiefs. In August 2010, the gang massacred 72 kidnapped migrants at a remote ranch in Colombian National Police/Wikimedia Commons, ShareAlike 4.0 International/BaptisteGrandGrand. The Zetas have set a price for allowing smugglers to transport migrants into the United States, and the cartel expects its cut, Islas says. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Marciano Millan-Vasquez 'brutally murdered anyone and everyone as it suited him and his cartel', Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Partners must notify. The following facts also illustrate the reality that an immediate defeat of the drug cartel may be far from feasible. The winners got to become Zetas recruits, while the losers got death. In 2009, the Mexican government identified the countrys 37 most wanted criminals. The Mexican military has been trying unsuccessfully for years to dismantle an extensive network of radio antennas built and operated by the Los Zetas drug cartel. The implication of this is that Los Zetas continues to bolster its criminal operations through nontraditional and unexpected means. WebTubutama Gun Battle On July 1, 2010, Sinaloa Cartel gunmen clashed with their rivals from the Beltran Leyva and Los Zetas Cartel leaving more than 20 dead near the rural town of On Tuesday, Rodriguez testified about a bloody massacre involving more than 300 people. The CJNG split from the Sinaloa Cartel after the killing of Ignacio Coronel, a capo whose death caused a power vacuum(via Insight Crime). He sent soldiers into San Fernando after the massacre to protect migrants and Mexican families, but they soon withdrew unlike the cartels. There were only a few bullet casings at the scene, but one sledgehammer and bodies showing blunt trauma to the head. 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. WebLos Zetas, originally founded by Mexican special forces deserters, some with US training, started as the enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel, a crime group from northeastern When Reyna didn't hear from his son for several days, he started making calls. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. Moreover, the extremely violent gang has made connections and collaborated with U.S. gangs all over the country since 2010. Locals also reported of the many corpses found in the Cauca River, which runs through Cali. This is a unique and distressing fact about the deadly gang. The heartless drug lord is claimed to have personally killed 2,000 people, in addition to ordering and supervising thousands of other murders. Officials exhuming the bodies noticed that many bore the marks of blunt trauma. The way in which the killers carried Since 2011, there have been numerous scandals exposing the collusion between politicians and drug cartels. By that point, however, more bodies had surfaced. The gang often kidnaps and holds poor migrants who try to operate outside the system for ransom. CIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamaulipas Gunmen with the Los Zetas cartel butchered close to 20 victims over the weekend, three of those victims were Texas residents who had been visiting relatives. A significant part of this bloodshed is caused by the Tijuana cartel, which is in constant conflict with the Sinaloa cartel. Lazcano was the leader of the Los Zetas cartel. He claimed that the drugs came from the Zetas "comandantes" or commanders, which included Millan-Vasquez. Cartels have dominated the international drugs trade since the 1980s, earning many billions of dollars and killing tens of thousands of people in Mexico and Colombia alone (via Al Jazeera and Britannica). Los Zetas is the largest drug cartel in Mexico in terms of scale of operations. He said that they spoke over the phone every day. Violent drug gangs are waging a bloody war in the tourist haven of Quintana Roo - visited by millions of British and American holidaymakers each year. As the cartel made connections across Mexico and the world, their death toll increased exponentially. 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. However, despite the logistical sophistication and the massive financial success, the history of cartels is fraught with betrayal, splinter groups, and brutally shortened lives. Tamaulipas Lieutenant Governor Morelos Jaime Canseco Gmez admitted police were still looking for another bus of passengers. From the mid-1980s to his death in 1993, Pablo Escobar was the "King of Cocaine," earning an estimated $420 million a week, according to Insider. He said that officers escorted him to remote locations to deliver guns to Millan-Vasquez on more than one occasion. 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. One former member of the cartel told the court Millan-Vasquez had taken part in a 2011 massacre in which up to 300 people were allegedly kidnapped, with many never seen again. This gang violence occurs in their stronghold of Ciudad Jurez, where 1,200 people were murdered in 2018. De Leon said that he helped Los Zetas stash drugs, transport firearms and deliver marijuana to drug mules along the river to be smuggled to the U.S. 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. Trevino Morales became head of the Los Zetas cartel after the death of long-time leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano in October 2012. 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. Drug lord Miguel Angel Z-40 Trevino Morales was arrested early in the morning Monday on a country dirt road after a Mexican Marine helicopter intercepted the pickup truck he was riding in. They told me to stop doing that," Reyna said in court. If a debtor refused, Escobar deployed his team of lethal "sicarios.". With the suspects revealing what they had done, excavations began. [4] The cartel recruits in US prisons and also courts street gang members for its drug trafficking activities in Mexico and the U.S. // ]]>. Favors were done under threat of death, while higher-ranking officials were paid off. That's right the Wight bitch was the bad one and cut off heads with axes with her own hands. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. 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. Reyna discovered that his son's co-worker and girlfriend were also missing. Gradually, the BLO began to weaken in this battle of attrition, losing many members to jail or death. The Gulf's cocaine business started when they brokered a deal with the Cali cartel, which was looking for new routes from Colombia to the United States. WebDuring 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. The rest of the video is a gruesome 40 seconds of cold-blooded murder, which caused international controversy recently when it was posted on Facebook. He frequently supervised killing experiments wherein new recruits were ordered to kill people with a machete or sledgehammer. WebMultiple witnesses have testified that Millan-Vasquez controlled the region of Piedras Negras for Los Zetas and is responsible for hundreds of killings and disappearances. Originally a security detail for the Sinaloa cartel, BLO seceded in 2008 and a fierce conflict ensued. Among the first deaths in the conflict was Edgar Guzman, El Chapo's son. In April 2019, CJNG killed 14 people in Minatitlan, a Zetas territory. It had only been a year since the 2010 In this pivotal year, Zetas occupied territory in 405 Mexican municipalities, which Insight Crime found was more than double that of their biggest rivals. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. (Watch our piece Mexican Marines Kill Drug Lord Known as The Executioner.). Their vicious feud affects ordinary people, too, such as Juan Manuel Delgado Crdenas, a 23-year-old student who was murdered for refusing to cook synthetic drugs (via Mexico News Daily). Some believe the victims were simply killed for refusing to join the cartel but, ultimately, San Fernando had become so violent that few journalists ever entered to investigate. Read more about illegal drugs and those who deal in them on 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels and 15 Notable Drug Traffickers. The cartel's influence has declined like many of its fragmenting peers, but their power remains strong inCiudad Jurez and the Valle de Jurez, which are key trafficking locations. If Mexican governors have been indicted as Los Zetas collaborators, then there is a possibility that one day, the criminal organization could produce a governor from its ranks. San Fernando woman Alma Miriam Ruiz holding a photo of her daughter Dalia missing since 2010. the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. 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. If their relatives do not pay for their release, they may be killed and dumped into mass graves. In August 2010, Zetas executed 72 migrants in Tamaulipas, which was followed by 2011 attacks in San Fernando and a Monterrey casino, killing a combined 245 people. The LA Times found that from January 1988 to November 1991, drug traffickers killed up to 219 people in this area, disposing of their bodies in rivers. He created a company, Tremor Enterprises, to purchase racehorses for American contests, winning millions in prize money through fixing races and doping horses. In1997, PBS described the Tijuana drug cartel as "one of the most powerful and aggressive drug trafficking organizations operating from Mexico," adding that it is "undeniably the most violent." There is a popular consensus that Los Zetas is the most brutal and inhuman drug cartel in history. Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. Extortion, smuggling, torture, possible harvesting of human body parts. 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. 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. Breitbart Texas Cartel Chroniclesare published in both English and in their originalSpanish. Picture taken from a TV screen showing Miguel Angel Trevino Morales by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images. In fact, CNNreported that Cali mobsters even invested in four 500-pound bombs, which they intended to somehow drop on Pablo Escobar. They robbed stores, they broke into an auto repair shop and stole cell phones and several vehicles, all with the goal of spreading terror.". Mostly Central American immigrants, they were traversing the state of Tamaulipas to cross into Texas. About two dozen have been captured or killed, including some from Los Zetas: Ivan Velazquez Caballero (aka El Taliban) Start your Independent Premium subscription today. 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. 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. Initially, the group was led by Osiel Crdenas Guilln, who recruited around 30 alumni from Mexico's special forces. Violence committed by the Juarez cartel is rife, especially from its La Linea faction, which has fighting the Sinaloa in Chihuahua City, contributing many deaths to the city's high 2020 murder rate (via FOX59). WebMarciano 'Chano' Millan Vasquez, 34, was jailed in San Antonio, Texas, for 29 killings carried out for notorious northern Mexican gang Los Zetas between 2009 and 2015, as well as The traditional cartels buy off politicians, establish traffic routes for smuggling and make money. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. 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. It would occur to many as an unacceptable surprise that Los Zetas recruits members in the United States. Then, learn about the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. By the early 1990s, Medellin was the most violent city not just in Colombia but the entire world, and much of that was because of the Medellin cartel's war with the government (via Rapid Transition). In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. By 2020, the once leading cartel was wounded and facing competition from old rivals and new cartels, such as the Jalisco New General Cartel, often referred to as CJNG. First it was people with money, then it was anyone. Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberments and other gory executions. The cartels brutal murders came to a head under the leadership of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales. There have been several arrests of purported Zeta members in the region but no trials. 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. 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. !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Web270p Video: Notorious Mexican Los Zetas cartel boss, Moises Escamilla May, 45, who was jailed for a string of ruthless beheadings, dies in jail from coronavirus Jalisco Cartel Then, on April 21, 2011, police arrested San Fernandos police chief and got a little closer to the truth. 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. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? However, despite their swift and brutal success, Insight Crime reports that Los Zetas has experienced fragmentation since 2012, especially when the Trevino brothers fell out and split the group into rival clans,the Northeast Cartel and the Zetas Old School. 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.