Los Zetas
In 1999, Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cardenas Guillen, hired a group of 31 corrupt former elite military soldiers now known as Los Zetas, who deserted from the Airmobile Special Forces Group (GAFE) and the Amphibian Group of Special Forces (GANFE) of the Mexican Army, and began operating as a private army for the Gulf Cartel. The Zetas have been instrumental in the Gulf Cartel's domination of the drug trade in much of Mexico and have fought to maintain the cartel's influence in northern cities following the arrest of Osiel Cardenas.
After the arrest and extradition of Gulf Cartel leader, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, the Zetas seized the opportunity to strike out on their own. Under the leadership of Heriberto Lazcano, the Zetas, numbering approximately 300, set up its own independent drug, arms and human-trafficking networks. In 2008, Los Zetas made a deal with ex-Sinaloa cartel commanders, the Beltrán-Leyva brothers and since then, became rivals of their former employer/partner, the Gulf Cartel.
Read more about this topic: Mexican Drug War, Mexican Cartels, Major Cartels
Other articles related to "los zetas, los, zetas":
... These original deserters, who were known as Los Zetas, came from the Special Forces squadron of the army, arguably the best trained branch of the Mexican military ... Upon the arrest and extradition of Cárdenas Guillén in 2003 and 2007 respectively, Los Zetas strengthen its role in the Gulf cartel, but managed to retain its alliance. 18 January 2010, several members of the Gulf cartel kidnapped Víctor Peña Mendoza, a leader of Los Zetas nicknamed Concord 3 and a close associate and friend of Treviño Morales, alias Z ...
... gunmen that were killed were members of Los Negros, a group of hitmen under the tutelage of Joaquín Guzmán Loera (a.k.a ... It is believed that he had liberated five members of Los Zetas who had been detained during the armed confrontation ... of a war between the Gulf Cartel's Los Zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel's Los Negros ...
... As a teenager, he began to work for Los Tejas, a gang that controlled most of his hometown's crimes ... He was never in the military, but he was hired in the 1990s by Los Zetas, the paramilitary wing of the Gulf Cartel, for his experience moving contraband across ... With Treviño's help, Los Zetas have taken on sideline operations that go beyond narcotics trafficking human smuggling, extortion, and gunrunning ...
... in order to eliminate the operation areas of both the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas ... the Sinaloa Cartel, the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, and Los Zetas in the state. 7 – The Federal Police arrest Jaime González Durán in Tamaulipas he was a founding member of Los Zetas ...
... lord and top leader of a criminal organization known as Los Zetas ... Unlike the original founders of Los Zetas, Treviño Morales has no military experience, and instead worked for a local gang as a teenager before being recruited in the 1990s ... Morales is an important figure in the Zetas, who acted as regional boss of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas and as the second-in-command of the organization ...
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