How the Zetas Tamed Central America's 'Coyotes'

[Disir]

Why did the Zetas, in two massacres, murder 268 people, the majority Central American, Mexican and South American migrants? The history of some of the Salvadorans who died in these bloodbaths in northern Mexico, the voice of one of El Salvador's coyote patriarchs and some documents all indicate that everything was part of a process of making the coyotes understand that they either had to pay or could not pass. Not them, nor their migrants. The rules have changed. The coyotes are no longer the roughest guys on the road.

The "coyote" -- a criminal that specializes in smuggling undocumented migrants -- returned much sooner than expected. Normally, he was gone more than 20 days, but this time only five or six days had passed since he had crossed the border between Guatemala and Mexico. This is why Fernando, the coyote's driver in El Salvador, thought it was strange when he received the call from his boss. It was August 2010, and the coyote ordered his driver to pick him up at the San Cristobal border crossing, on the Salvadoran side. He came alone, without any of the six migrants that he had brought. The coyote, Fernando noted when he told the story to the Attorney General's Office, came back seeming nervous, without explaining what had happened, giving half-hearted excuses. "A dog bit me," Fernando remembered the coyote saying. Some days later, Fernando would discover that the coyote was not bitten by a dog in Mexico. He was bitten by something much bigger.

Excellent article.

 

[waltky]

Zetas Cartel Founder Among 6 Gunned Down...

Mexico: A Zetas founder among 6 dead in shootout
May 11, 2014 — One of the military deserters who helped found the gang that grew into the brutal Zetas cartel was among six people killed during a gunbattle in a border town, a Tamaulipas state security official said Sunday.

The official said authorities confirmed that Galindo Mellado Cruz was one of five gunmen who died Friday in a shootout that also killed a Mexican soldier in Reynosa, which is across from McAllen, Texas. The official was not permitted to be quoted by name for security reasons.

The official said that Mellado Cruz was one of the 30 ex-special forces soldiers who created the Zetas gang to serve as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel before splitting off in a bloody breakup with its former ally. The official said Mellado Cruz no longer held a Zetas command position.

Tamaulipas became one of the arenas for fighting between the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas and was one of Mexico's most violent states. But the state had calmed somewhat by 2012, before violence re-ignited in recent weeks.

Mexico: A Zetas founder among 6 dead in shootout

 

[Disir]

I didn't even realize that I didn't link to the article.
How the Zetas Tamed Central America's 'Coyotes' - InSight Crime | Organized Crime in the Americas

 

[waltky]

Zetas shootout closes major highway, kills bystander...

Shootouts in Mexico border city kill 11, including bystander
Sep 3,`16 -- Two highway shootouts between soldiers and suspected drug gang members in a northern border city resulted in 11 dead Saturday, including a bystander caught in the crossfire, Mexican authorities reported.

The violence in Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas, prompted the temporary closure of the highway, which is a major artery for travel and commerce between the United States and Mexico.

The Tamaulipas state government said in a statement that the armed confrontations began early Saturday when troops killed eight suspected criminals on the highway. Soldiers seized a truck and high-caliber weapons, it said. An hour later another shootout broke out nearby in which two suspects were killed, along with a woman who was traveling in her car, authorities said.

Nuevo Laredo Mayor Carlos Canturosas said Saturday night via Facebook that the highway, which handles nearly half of the export-import cargo between Mexico and the United States, had reopened. Nuevo Laredo has experienced high violence rates as rival factions of the Zetas drug cartel fight for control of the area.

News from The Associated Press

 

[waltky]

Couple o' Mexican army lieutenants caught tryin' to make a fast n' furious buck...

Mexico arrests soldiers attempting to sell firearms to Los Zetas Cartel
Jan. 31, 2017 -- Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense said it arrested two lieutenants who attempted to sell 11 AK-47s and three AR-15s to members of the Los Zetas Cartel for about $5,000.

The men arrested in the Tamaulipas state last week were officially identified as José Manuel "N" and Ambrosio "N." The detained lieutenants said the weapons were being transported to the Xicoténcatl municipality, where Francisco "Pancho" Carreón, a Los Zetas unit leader, was going to pick them up, officials said.

The men are identified by Nuevo Laredo en Vivo as Jose Manuel Nuñes Santiago and Ambrosio Salgado Brito, who were arrested after an inspection was carried out because they appeared nervous.

A member of Mexico's National Security Cabinet told Milenio on Sunday the lieutenants will be punished accordingly. The lieutenants were delivered to the Attorney General's Office and will be prosecuted under Mexico's military justice system.

Los Zetas is a vast criminal enterprise involved in drug, firearms and sex trafficking based in Nuevo Laredo, a town bordering the United States in Tamaulipas. The cartel is a rival of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel.

Mexico arrests soldiers attempting to sell firearms to Los Zetas Cartel

 

[waltky]

Mebbe dey gonna put him inna cell with El Chapo...

Los Zetas cartel member 'Comandante Cano' arrested in Mexico
Feb. 2, 2017 -- The government of Mexico's Tamaulipas state said José Luis "Comandante Cano" Lumbreras, a known leader within the Los Zetas cartel, has been arrested.

Mexican security officials freed two people who were kidnapped by the group in an operation that occurred on Tuesday in Ciudad Victoria. The security operation was carried out in coordination with members of the Tamaulipas State Attorney General's Office, the Mexican army, State Police and Federal Police.

Cano Lumbreras, also known as "El Cano" and "Pepe Cano," is accused of leading a cell within Los Zetas that is accused of murders, kidnapping, extortion and thefts. Four people were also arrested, two of whom were identified as Saúl "N" and Jesús Mario "N."

Last week, two lieutenants of Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense who attempted to sell 11 AK-47s and three AR-15s to members of the Los Zetas cartel for about $5,000 were arrested. Los Zetas is a vast criminal enterprise involved in drug, firearms and sex trafficking based in Nuevo Laredo, a town bordering the United States in Tamaulipas. The cartel is a rival of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel.

Los Zetas cartel member 'Comandante Cano' arrested in Mexico