Topic Forum （1200 words）

Zetas One of the most prominent and most violent gangs in Mexico is Los

Zetas. They are known for the military style training and their calling

card, extreme violence. The gang and their activities have to be included

in this book because of the transnational nature of their migration, ties to

U.S. prison and street gangs and the types of crime the group is involved

in.

History Los Zetas presence south of the U.S.-Mexico border is just as important

as their presence north of it. The best way to describe the gang is to say

they started as a rogue group of Mexican Army Special Forces type

soldiers that are responsible for hundreds of drug related murders, drug

and arms trafficking and corruption along the southern U.S. border.

The gang's activity was highlighted in 2005 when a 56 year-old father of

three took the oath of office and became the police chief in the city of

Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The town is located across the Rio Grande River

from Laredo, Texas. Within six hours he was dead; he was shot with

more than 30 times. The hit men were believed to be members of Los

Zetas (Grayson, 2008).

It is believed that Los Zetas (Spanish for the letter Z) was formed in

1995. Thirty one Mexican Army Special Forces soldiers deserted their

units to become enforcers for Osiel Cardenas, the leader of the Gulf

Cartel. The Zetas were originally members the Grupo Aeromovil de

Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE). Translated the name is Air Mobil Group

and was the 350 member elite paratrooper and intelligence battalion of

GAFE. The unit was deployed in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico to

fight drug traffickers along the Texas-Mexican border in 1995 (DOJ,

2005). Another source suggests the gang was formed in 1998 (Charlton,

2007). The title of Los Zetas was taken from the radio code used by the

Mexican Federal Police in Tamaulipas. It referred to the highest ranking

commanders (DOJ, 2005).

The Mexican soldiers who formed the original group of Los Zetas were

highly trained in small arms tactics, as well as collecting intelligence.

Members of GAFE also received advanced training from the U.S. Army

Special Forces. At least one third of the original members of Los Zetas

received training at the School of Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia.

GAFE soldiers even received advanced training from military special

operation units from Cuba and Brazil (DOJ, 2005; Grayson, 2008;

Maldon Institute, 2009). Another researcher suggests that the original

Zetas were second generation trained Mexican soldiers, not the original

soldiers trained by the U.S. military. Los Zetas formed from the ranks of

Mexican soldiers that were trained by Mexican soldiers (Hale, 2009). 413

Currently, Los Zetas recruits from the pool of Mexican State Police,

criminals, street gang members and civilian population. Los Zetas is^

known for its superior firepower, weapons handling, assault tactics,

intelligence gathering expertise and brutality. Los Zetas have reported to

operate through Mexico, but especially in the states of Nuevo Leon,

Tamaulipas, Sonora, Guerrero and Veracruz (Charlton, 2007). In

Tamaulipas, Los Zetas presence has been noted in Matamoros, Reynosa

and Nuevo Laredo. They are active throughout the gulf region of the

country and the states of Tabasco, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Chiapas,

Oaxaca, Michoacan and Mexico City (Grayson, 2008).

Los Zetas are known for their common- use of military tactics,

automatic weapons, including grenades and explosives. Los Zetas are

responsible for shoot outs with Mexican local and Federal police the

Army. The gang is highly organized and disciplined and criminal

investigations have revealed the gang’s presence in Texas, Oklahoma,

Arizona, and California (DOJ, 2005). Between the para-military groups

operating in Mexico there is almost an arms race going on. Gangs like

Los Zetas have armed themselves with weapons of war including rocket

propelled grenades, 50 caliber sniper rifles and grenades (Maldon

Institute, 2009; Ellingwood and Wilkinson, 2009).

Unlike traditional law enforcement and military Los Zetas virtually has

an unlimited budget. This means the gang has the purchasing power for

the most current weapon systems and the ability to pay handsomely for

intelligence. This translates to the fact that often Mexican law

enforcement is outgunned and outmanned when confronting a unit of

Los Zetas. Law enforcement anecdotal evidence suggests that a large

percentage of the weapons used by Los Zetas originate from the United

States. This confirms the concept of arms trafficking from the U.S. into

Mexico.

At one time members of Los Zetas were known to wear military style

uniforms. This includes military grade body armor. The members can be

armed with AK and AR series automatic assault rifles, hand grenades,

rocket propelled grenades (RPG) and global positioning equipment. Los

Zetas are also known to drive armored vehicles such as Lincoln

Navigators, and SUV type trucks, including Hummers. Law enforcement

anecdotal evidence also suggests that Los Zetas may have access to

helicopters (DOJ, 2005). There is a vertical command leadership

structure to this gang.

The lowest ranking members of Los Zetas can be referred to as “Hawks”

(halcones). These members function as intelligence gathers who watch

assigned area. Based on the comments from a former Zeta member,

“there is nowhere to hide in Mexico because Los Zetas have bought off

officers in the municipal police, state police, ministerial police, soldiers,

federal preventative policy and military on the border.” This same

former Zeta member also suggested that some Zeta units have specific

ties with the Mara Salvatrucha gang. He claims that some current Los

Zetas members were former members ofthe MS-13 gang (News Channel

5,2006).

Other members are in charge of stores or locations where drugs and

other contraband are processed. Los Cobras or Los L’s provide armed

security to the Los Zetas members working in these areas. There is

another level of Zeta memberships called Nuevo Zetas and are also

called Kaibiles. These members are former Guatemalan Special forces

soldiers who have deserted and now work with Los Zetas. During

operations the Nuevo Zetas appear to give orders to Los Cobras when to

shoot or when to handcuff kidnap victims (Maldon Institute, 2009).

There are relatively few original Los Zetas members left. Many are dead

or in custody. Of those wlur remain they are the highest ranking

members within Los Zetasv They are often referred to as “university

graduates” or “teachers” or “lawyers” or “engineers.” These are code

names that are used in public or when talking on telephones in order not

to be identified in case the conversation is monitored (Maldon Institute,

2009).

Each Zeta unit has an accountant assigned to it. These positions tend to

be held by the most trusted members of Los Zetas because they

distribute payroll and bribes. The highest ranking accountant for the

entire Zeta organization is known as Comandante Sol. The accountants

also 414

Zetas

have a list of the payroll listing the name of public officials being paid

money by the gang. The gang also has informants and security details

that guard the homes of unit commanders. The informants are like

assistants to the commander. The informants have no legal issues; can

move

around the city with no difficulty and have connections that the gang

uses (Maldon Institute 2009). 6 v

The Zetas have also been known to operate in platoon size units between

10 and 15 members using military style tactic in their operations. Due to

the extreme levels of poverty in many parts of Mexico new member s

can be easily drawn to the gang because they will pay approximately

3,000 peso per week; the equivalent of about $300 U.S. dollars per week

(Charlton, 2007). A Mexican soldier might make that pay per month.

Other law enforcement anecdotal evidence has suggested Los Zetas can

operate in smaller groups with three to four members in a vehicle.

In 2003, the head of the Gulf Cartel, Osiel Cardenas was arrested by

Mexican law enforcement. Los Zetas continued to protect his interests in

the cartel. The main rival for Los Zetas is the Sinaloa cartel headed by

Joaquin “el Chapo” Guzman and battle ground for control of the 1-35

corridor drug trafficking route through Texas was and still is the city of

Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. This is the sister city of Laredo, Texas and is

where the world Trade bridge is located. The Sinaloa Carte was and is

the main rival of the Gulf Cartel. Subsequent to his arrest Osiel Cardenas

was extradited to the United States pending trial for drug trafficking and

other charges (Maldon Institute, 2009).

Since the arrest of Cardenas there is some law enforcement anecdotal

evidence which suggests Los Zetas have evolved into its own drug

trafficking organization. “The Zetas don’t ask the Gulf cartel for

permission for anything anymore. They simply inform them of their

activities whenever they feel like it” (Grayson, 2008). As a result there is

fierce and brutal fighting between the gangs which includes the murder

of police officers and innocent bystanders. It appears that Los Zetas are

involved in the trafficking of the crystal form of methamphetamine

commonly known as “Ice.’

Diversification Los Zetas are also involved in human smuggling of Central Americans

and Mexicans into the United States. There is some evidence that also

suggests Los Zetas are involved in smuggling Middle Easterners from

Mexico into the U.S. (DOJ, 2005). During the mid to late 1990s law

enforcement anecdotal evidence suggested Los Zeta s had specifically

targeted U.S. Border Patrol Agents other law enforcement officers. The

gang reportedly placed a bounty on the agents ranging from $30,000 to

$50,000 for each death (DOJ, 2005). In one case Los Zetas members

allegedly kidnapped and executed several Mexican police officers form

the city of Matamoros, Mexico.

Kidnappings traced back to Los Zetas have increased over the years.

Between 2004 and 2005 the FBI reported 35 abductions of U.S. citizens

within regions controlled by Los Zetas. From January to August, 2005

there were 202 kidnappings reported in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

Tamaulipas is the Gulf Cartel’s and a Fos Zeta’s operational center.

Many kidnappings go unreported by the family for fear of retaliation by

Los Zetas (Swecker, 2005).

Here is another fact that supports the transnational nature of Los Zetas.

The gang has established an auxiliary gang composed of the children

and nephews of Los Zetas. This gang is called “Los Zetillas.” Los

Zetillas also recruits from the ranks of U.S. based Latino street gangs in

Texas. It has been reported that for U.S. Latino street gang members to

be initiated into Los Zetillas they have to commit a murder (History

Channel, 2009). Los Zetas have set up training camps for 15 to 18 year-

old recruits. Los Zetas have also recruited members of the Kaibiles;

these are specially trained Guatemalan jungle warfare fighters (Grayson,

2008).

The internal training program for new members usually includes

weapons use, explosives, personal defense and physical fitness (History

Channel, 2009). The training camps have been 415

Chapter 6 - Transnational Gangs

reported in locations south of Matamoros, Mexico across the border

from Brownsville, Texas and a second venue just north of Nuevo Laredo

airport, near the town of Abasolo, Mexico (Grayson, 2008).

To fully understand the impact Los Zetas can have you have to

understand the changing dynamics of the drug cartels and the growing

rivalries between them. For example, law enforcement anecdotal

evidence suggested in 2004 the Gulf Cartel formed an alliance with the

Tijuana Cartel. This alliance impacted rival cartels (Sinaloa and Jalisco).

The cartels were fighting over drug distribution routes and territory. This

conflict led the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels to recruit their own

paramilitary forces to protect themselves from Los Zetas who were the

enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel. The Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels

established the “Los Negros,” “Los Lobos” and “Los Chachos”

mercenary gangs in an effort to defeat Los Zetas. In 2005, the alliance

between the Gulf and Tijuana cartels dissolved over a dispute, but the

conflicts between the four cartels still remains (DOJ, 2005; NDIC,

2007).

Los Zetas have evolved into a drug trafficking organization that in truly

have transnational connections with the United States, but also with

Central America. The L.A. Times newspaper reported that much of the

military grade weapons that Los Zetas use are purchased from contacts

in Central America. The gang is taking advantage of the porous borders

between Guatemala and Mexico. It has been suggested that the weapons

are left over from the Central American civil wars. For example, military

grade grenades have been found in 10 Mexican states.

According to the L.A. Times “The Mexican government said it has

seized 2,239 grenades in the last two years, in contrast to 59 seized over

the previous two years” (Ellingwood and Wilkinson, 2009). Los Zetas

have now become involved in the International arms Black Market.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that a wide sampling ofthe enhanced

weapons have come from the international arms bazaar, with grenades

and launchers produced by U.S., South Korean, Israeli, Spanish or

former Soviet bloc manufacturers (Ellingwood and Wilkinson, 2009.

Transnational Activities Anecdotal evidence law enforcement evidence also suggests that

members of Los Zetas have been active in the United States. It is

suspected that Los Zetas were responsible for the death of a Jamaican

drug trafficker in Phoenix, Arizona when they dressed as Phoenix Police

SWAT officers in June, 2008. In Birmingham, Alabama, Los Zetas were

suspected in the death of a number of Mexican men in August, 2008.

The victims’ throats were slashed and the money and drugs in the

apartment were not touched (Maldon Institute, 2009).

It is now very clear that the gang’s criminal activities have now moved

north into the United States in a couple of ways. First, even though Los

Zetas is based within the Gulf Cartel turf their transnational operations

have lead to development of alliances and the recruiting of U.S. based

gang members. Law enforcement anecdotal evidence suggests that Los

Zetas has been involved in multiple assaults in the United States and

have attempted to hire the services of the Mexican Mafia prison gangs

for contract killings.

There is some law enforcement evidence that also suggests Los Zetas

use members of Barrio Azteca (BA) and Texas Syndicate (TS) and

Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos (HPL) as operatives in the United States

(Maldon Institute, 2009; Grayson, 2008). Reaching out for U.S. based

allies does not prevent Los Zetas members from entering the country

.and conducting criminal activities themselves. That is the second way

the gang can impact U.S. based gangs and criminal activity. According

to the L.A. Times Los Zetas are suspected to be active throughout

Arizona and at least 22 different U.S. states and the District of Columbia

(Meyer, 2009).