"El Lazca" Betrays the Power that Gave him Life: The Army

After seven years in the army a corporal in the infantry named Heriberto Lazcano decided to change his uniform and channel his ambitions in the field of organized crime.

He grew up in the shadow of his boss Osiel Cardenas capo of Gulf cartel, and he had as a teacher the founder of Los Zetas: Arturo Guzmán Decenas. Having Become El Lazca with a bloody reputation, this former paramilitary managed to elevate his group of sicarios to the status of cartel.

On June 5, 1991, Heriberto Lazcano, El Lazca, enlisted in the Mexican Army with the aim of becoming a figure within the military ranks.

His ambition to achieve a leading position in the military lasted seven years. Like many other hundreds of soldiers who ended up involved in the drug business, the current top leader of the Zetas decided to open a place in the world of drug trafficking. Now is one of the most wanted drug lords in and out of Mexico.

On March 27, 1998, according to records of the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA), Lazcano deserted from the Army when he had reached the rank of corporal in the infantry.

Hand full of dollars and unlimited power offered by the drug cartels seduced him when he was 24 years old. A Short time after his desertion he joined the Gulf Cartel, a criminal organization that then had regained its power under the leadership of a new figure: Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, "El Mata Amigos" or "The Killer of friends."

According to the ministerial that took statements from protected witnesses Rufino y Geraldin, Lazcano was introduced to the Gulf cartel by another ex-military who became as powerful as what El Lazca is today: Guzmán Decenas, El Z-1, to who both the PGR and the Secretariat Public Security (SSP) attributed as being the founder of Los Zetas, the so-called “ejército del narco” or narco army.

Geraldin, whose name is Alejandro Lucio Morales Betancourt, was part of this "army," where he was known as Z-2.

On November 17, 2001 he was captured and soon joined the witness protection program. In the preliminary investigation PGR/SIEDO/UEIDCS/111/2003 it states that the objective pursued by the creation of the Los Zetas, armed wing of the Gulf Cartel was to eliminate all the enemies of Cárdenas Guillén.

The history of Los Zetas confirms Geraldin version, since in late 1997- when Cardenas emerged from the ranks of the defunct Federal Judicial Police, and prepared to take control of the Gulf cartel, then came Guzmán Decenas, a character who would be key to expansion plans of the criminal organization to eliminate rivals of Osiel, among others to include his main opponent: Salvador Gómez Herrera, El Chava.

Guzmán Decenas was born on January 13, 1976 in the state of Puebla and trained in the Army, where, under the military rigor, he attended high school. He then joined the Special Forces Airmobile Group (GAFE), a body that was created with the vocation of combating counterinsurgency and organized crime.

The predecessor of Heriberto Lazcano as head of Los Zetas, Guzmán Decenas was one of the many soldiers who in the mid 90s became Care Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Health (FEADS) a group that was used help in the fight against drugs, but the organization was disbanded in 2003 because it was infiltrated by narcos. When he was serving a commander of police in Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, he was picked up by Cardenas Guillen.

According to the protective witness Rufino whose name is Francisco Vazquez and who served as personal assistant to Osiel- Guzmán Decenas planned along with the capo the creation of a protection group, because he feared that he might be murdered by El Chava Gómez.

Before Gomez Herrera could eliminate Cardenas and the plaza of Tamaulipas would remain under his absolute control, Osiel, according to the witness, decided to execute him. Rufino said that the executioner was Guzmán Decenas, boss and master of Heriberto Lazcano.

Categories: heriberto lazcano, los zetas