El Mamito: "All our weapons are bought in the U.S."

In an interview recorded with officials from Mexico’s Federal SSP (Ministry of Public Safety) and distributed to the Mexican media, Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar “El Mamito” revealed that Los Zetas obtain their arms from the U.S.

“All the weapons are bought in the United States. We used to bring them through the bridge, but we have to cross them on the river now. It’s gotten more difficult for us.”

Rejon Aguilar confessed that Los Zetas have “buyers on the other side” (in the U.S.) who are U.S. citizens that acquire the arms and sell them to Los Zetas. He also admitted hearing stories that the U.S. government was selling weapons.

“What we buy in the United States, there was a time when the buyers, they weren’t our people, they were buyers from the other side, were saying that the American government was selling weapons.”

El Mamito stated that the Mexican government’s efforts had made it more difficult for Los Zetas to get weapons onto Mexican soil but that the Gulf Cartel had no such difficulty. They are still able to smuggle weapons in the trunks of cars through the border crossings.

“We are unaware of what’s happening but you can deduce that if it’s almost impossible for us to buy weapons and bring them in our trunks and they (Gulf Cartel) can they can bring them in freely, with no problems, well there has to be an arrangement, one can deduce that they have a pact with the government, I don’t know.“

This comes at a time when Mexico is urging the U.S. to do more to combat the flow of arms southward, including a reinstatement of the assault weapons ban.

El Mamito declared that Los Zetas do not buy their cocaine directly from Colombia because they don’t trust Colombian drug traffickers. They buy their cocaine in Central America, particularly in Guatemala, which is the responsibility of a private group of “accountants”.

“Drug trafficking is done by a group of accountants who handle everything in private, It is a closed group and only they know whats going on. I don’t know. They could be be bringing in drugs every month or two, with the problems we’re having it could be two months, three months.”

"They are shipping it to the United States, it comes to Laredo but it is a closed group and they have accountants that are responsible for everything," he said.

El Mamito confirmed that the attack on February 15 this year against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents that resulted in the death of Jaime Zapata in San Luis Potosi was due to an error by Zeta gunmen who believed they were members of a rival group.

Regarding the leader of La Familia Michoacana, Jesus 'El Chango' Mendez, El Mamito said he had knowledge that Mendez had sought an alliance with Los Zetas days before his capture.

“He wanted to get close to us, to have a dialogue bcause they had killed all his people and he needed our support.”

“My personal point of view was that he who betrays you once will betray you a second time. I didn’t see it as convenient but that’s my opinion. I don’t know what those above me thought”

El Mamito stated that there was a truce between Los Zetas and La Familia that disintegrated after the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva.

He stated that the current violence between Los Zetas and other drug cartels is the result of treason.

“Los Golfos made alliances and now we are at war with El Chapo, El Mayo (Zambada), Jalisco, La Familia.”

Sources:
http://www.elnorte.com/nacional/articulo/634/1267837/
http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/07/05/armamento-de-los-zetas-se-compra-en-eu-dice-fundador-del-grupo-criminal
http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/527bf89f5e5bafb20ce82c4685ef6f8e