Los Zetas
Commonly known as the enforcement branch of a top tier Mexican drug trafficking organization (DTO) known as the Gulf Cartel, the founding members of this elite group of hit men are former Mexican soldiers who, once trained, left the rank and file to earn money protecting the black market economy. During their tenure as a paramilitary force overseeing the transshipment of multiple tonnes of cocaine across the border into the US, Los Zetas was then given orders and controlled by Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, the former head of the Gulf Cartel now awaiting trial in the US. The extradition of Cardenas in January 2007 caused a rift in his organization’s structure, removing the one power that had been able to contain Los Zetas and solidifying its status as the real power at the border. Both before and after this change in leadership, the brazen nature of their attacks could be easily discerned from the day-to-day violence in Mexico. Some corpses left in the wake of a hit had the letter “Z” carved ...