How much do we really know about the Zetas?
As Mexico prepares to deploy 12,000 troops against the Zetas, one of the top drug trafficking groups in Mexico, a new book argues that nobody has a clear understanding of the group.
As Mexico prepares to deploy 12,000 troops against the Zetas, one of the top drug trafficking groups in Mexico, a new book argues that nobody has a clear understanding of the group.
Insight Crime聽researches, analyzes, and investigates organized crime in the Americas. Find all of Patrick Corcoran's research听丑别谤别.
A new book from a veteran Mexican crime reporter argues that, though the Zetas drug gang has changed the face of the country's underworld, there is no clear official definition of who or what they really are.
"La guerra de los Zetas: Viaje por la frontera de la necropolitica" was written by reporter Diego Enrique Osorno. In an excerpt from the book published in Gatopardo magazine, Osorno discusses his early days reporting on crime in Mexico鈥檚 northeast, when the Zetas were an emerging force working for the Gulf Cartel.
The growth of the Zetas has had a series of hugely significant consequences for security in Mexico. The most immediate, which was evident as the group pushed the Sinaloa Cartel out of Tamaulipas in the mid-2000s, was the establishment of a serious rival to the Sinaloa Cartel, which is controlled by Joaquin 鈥淓l Chapo鈥� Guzman. As a consequence, any chance of a relatively peaceful drug trafficking industry controlled by one dominant group has been shattered. The last decade has seen regular and destabilizing attempts by groups like the Zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel to grab the upper hand around the country, resulting in many thousands of deaths.
The Zetas are more expansive than previous Mexican gangs (though it is worth pointing out that Sinaloa has also grown far more prone to aggressive thrusts into new territory). After pushing Guzman out of Nuevo Laredo, they embarked on an attempt to put down roots in far-flung regions of the country, from Cancun to Acapulco to Guadalajara. In recent months they have moved into cities in Sinaloa itself, the home state of Guzman's organization. Such gambits have given it one of the largest geographical presences in Mexico.
As their territory grew, the Zetas expanded into new forms of crime. Drug trafficking probably remains their single most important source of income, but the Zetas have also become known for oil theft, human trafficking, extortion, and kidnapping, among other activities. Many of these require more interaction with general public than the drug trade, and the Zetas have shown the civilian population the same aggression as in their dealings with the Sinaloa Cartel.
In one of the most notorious instances, an arson attack on Monterrey鈥檚 Casino Royale in August 2011, in retaliation for an unpaid extortion payment, resulted in the death of 52 people. While the Casino Royale attack is the most spectacular example, there have been many notorious and violent provocations from the Zetas, which have made Mexico's battles with organized crime a far more pressing issue for even law-abiding citizens.
What follows is InSight Crime's translation of sections from the excerpt from Osorno's book published in Gatopardo:
Insight Crime聽researches, analyzes, and investigates organized crime in the Americas. Find all of Patrick Corcoran's research听丑别谤别.