In the late 1990s, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, former leader of the Gulf Cartel, hired 31 deserters of the Army’s elite Airborne Special Forces Groups (Gafes) as mercenaries for protection, debt collection, securing cocaine trafficking routes known as plazas, discouraging defections from the cartel, and defense from encroaching rivals, often in the form of gruesome executions. The group became known as “Los Zetas.”
• The Mexican military created the Gafes in mid-1990s in cooperation with the United States. The soldiers were trained in rapid deployment, aerial assaults, marksmanship, ambushes, intelligence collection, counter-surveillance techniques, prisoner rescues, sophisticated communications, and the art of intimidation.
The Zetas, who have maintained operational control of the Gulf Cartel since 2003, peacefully “splintered” from their original Gulf leadership in 2007, dividing up areas of control in the city of Tamaulipas. The splinter group is a three-tiered, highly sophisticated organization that includes corrupt federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, as well as civilians. In mid-2007, Zeta leader Heriberte “Lazca” Lazcano reportedly formed a new alliance with once rival Beltran-Leyva Brothers and Vincente Carillo of the Juarez cartel, often referred to as the ‘mega cartel’. Members of this new alliance employ the Zetas:
• In many ways, the original Zetas innovated paramilitary tactics utilized by organized crime groups in Mexico. Levels of violence have significantly intensified in Mexico, especially along the border, as many Gulf rivals attempted to hire former military and amass weaponry in order to maintain parity with Zeta military training and capabilities.
By 2009 many of the original 31 Zeta founders have been killed or incarcerated. This leadership vacuum has been filled by younger men who are just as brutal, but often lack the professional training of the original members. The new leadership operates a decentralized network comprised of isolated cells, or gatekeepers, which control certain plazas within Gulf territory. The cell-like structure limits the information any one member knows about other operatives and allows for power vacuums to be filed with little threat of a struggle.
THREAT GROUP PROFILE META DATA & ANALYSIS
Group Activities: • On September 29, 2008, Zetas were reportedly responsible for the mass execution of 16 people in Tijuana. The following morning, additional human remains were found in a barrel of acid accompanied by a threatening message to rivals. • On September 16, 2008, the Zetas were allegedly responsible for the Mexican Independence Day grenade attack in Morelia City, Michoacan, where eight civilians were killed and over 50 were injured. • In March 2009 Guatemalan officials discovered a Zeta training camp near Quiche. Two commanders of the Zetas and 37 recruits fled the camp before the police and military arrived. The raid resulted in the seizure of 500 grenades, six rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) found an illegal airstrip, an obstacle course and equipment for practicing shooting at moving targets.
Individuals Involved: Heriberto “El Lazca” Lazcano: Lazcano joined the Mexican army at 28 years-old and was later recruited for the Gafes Special Forces group. In the late 1990s, Osiel Cardenas Guillen bribed Lazcano to serve as a mercenary for his Gulf Cartel. Since the death of Guzman Decenas in 2002 and the capture of his second-in-command Rogelio Gonzalez Pizana in 2004, Lazcano served as the group’s leader. • On March 23, 2009, the Mexican Attorney General’s Office announced a US$ 2 million reward for information leading to Lazcano’s capture. Jaime “El Hummer” Gonzalez Duran: Incarcerated Gonzalez Duran was a founding member of Los Zetas and second-in-command at the time of his arrest on November 7, 2008. Before his arrest, Gonzalez Duran is reported to have controlled Zetas’ operations in nine states and organized the escape of Daniel Perez Rojas from a prison in Matamoros. Daniel “El Cachetes” Perez Rojas: Incarcerated Perez Rojas is a former Gafes Special Forces commando trained in psychological warfare and special operations at the US military’s School of the Americas at Fort Bragg. Perez Rojas is known to have traveled extensively to Guatemala and is thought to have been integral to Los Zetas’ plans to expand into Central America. Mexican police arrested him on April 8, 2008. Miguel “Z-40” Trevino Morales: Trevino Morales is a former Gafes Special Forces commando who reportedly trained at the US military’s School of the Americas at Fort Bragg. The DEA believed he served as the Nuevo Laredo plaza boss, or gatekeeper, from 2006 to 2007. • On March 23, 2009, the Mexican Attorney General’s Office announced a US$2 million reward for information leading to Trevino Morales’ capture.
Operating Region: Los Zetas are based out of the northeastern city of Tamaulipas, but operate throughout the nation assisted through temporary alliances with other cartel organizations.
External Aid: Los Zetas rely on illegal arms shipments from the United States and Guatemala.
Status: Active
Date posted: April 26, 2014
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