Reports indicate that while the Zetas were initially comprised of members of the Mexican militaryÂ’s Special Forces, they now include Federal, State, and local law enforcement personnel as well as civilians. Moreover,
according to U.S. intelligence officials, Zetas are recruiting former Guatelmalan Special Forces military personnel know as Kaibiles and members of the notorious cross-border gangs known as Maras, including the violent Mara Salvatruchas (MS13).
The cartels’ methods of torture and killing are particularly brutal. On September 6, 2006, masked gunmen entered a nightclub in the Michoacan, fired guns in the air and rolled five severed human heads onto the dance floor. The gunmen left a sign among the severed heads that read: “The family doesn’t kill for money. It doesn’t kill women. It doesn’t kill innocent people, only those who deserve to die. Know that this is divine justice."
According to Federal law enforcement officials; this hideous act was a revenge killing between warring gangs.
Decapitations are becoming quite common in many areas in Mexico where cartels and gangs battle for control over lucrative smuggling corridors to the United States.
Heads are publicly displayed for the purpose of intimidation.
Another brutal means of torture and death is called “guisoe.” This practice involves putting a person into a 55 gallon drum, usually dead, but not always, and pouring various flammable liquids over the body and lighting it on fire. A variation on this method is to place a burning tire around the neck of an individual, burning the victim alive. The remains are dumped on roadsides as a message to others who would consider crossing the cartels. The ruthless methods employed by these cartels to torture and kill their competitors are no different than the techniques used by Al Qa'ida and other terrorist organizations. This level of brutality is particulary troubling as the cartels are executing these vicious murders a mere stones-throw from U.S. soil.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
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A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border
http://www.house.gov/mccaul/pdf/Investigaions-Border-Report.pdfhttp://www.house.gov/mccaul/pdf/Investigaions-Border-Report.pdf
http://www.house.gov/mccaul/pdf/Inve...der-Report.pdf