Zeta Betrayal

I had seen this article around on a  few Narco blogs and thought little of it. But due to recent videos released by the Gulf cartel that give credibility to the rumors of a split within the leadership of los Zetas, I thought this article was worth translating. It is difficult to say where the article originated from, or who the author is. Narco blogs are notorious for ripping off legitimate work from journalists and photographers without giving any credit for their sources, so if I can’t verify the source, I don’t give credit. Either way, it seems to have good information about the current situation among the Z.
-Smurf
 
1/3/11 - A memo sent from the state department of the U.S. to  the government of Mexico indicate concerns over  an alliance between los Zetas, and the Secretary of Public Security (SSP), Genaro Garcia Luna, and the top brass of the Federal Preventive Police (PFP). It is alleged that the head of the SSP took several million dollars from the Zetas in exchange for which they received protect and the SSP began major operations against the Gulf cartel.

The confidential report signals the alliance was between Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, (a) el Z 40, and a close confidante who worked withing the highest levels of the Federal Government. This federal contact would set up operations that targeted Miguel Treviño’s enemies for arrest and sometimes death by elements of the police.

It goes on to state that the Federal Police have lost the confidence of the people and within the Calderon led government, because of evidence of narco-infiltrators working amongst their file and rank. The level of corruption within the Federal Police has gotten so out of hand that the fight against organized crime in Mexico has been taken up by The Secretary of National Defense (SEDENA) and the Mexican Marines. The Federal Police are complicit with los Zetas  in their fight against the Gulf cartel (CDG) in the frontier cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Miguel Alemán, Camargo, Mier, Nueva Ciudad Guerrero and Díaz Ordaz. This information was obtained from the declaration of a member of Z-40′s inner circle, who was recently captured.

The PFP took the unusual step of securing accommodations for their base of operations in the town of  Miguel Alemán in a hotel called Tío Luz. In the city of Camargo they were located in Hotel Arturo’s. This was part of a new offensive that was authorized by  Genaro García Luna himself, in collusion with several high ranking members of the PFP.

Two municipal police officers were kidnapped and murdered in the municipality of China, (which is located in the Northeastern state of Nuevo León).  This was in part due to a request for federal backup by Z-40 for help against the Gulf cartel. It was an attempt to create a smokescreen and a reason for the PFP to come down hard on the CDG. But the truth was that the municipal police were taken from the Cadereyta zone, which is a well known Zeta stronghold, led by one of their most valued lieutenants, El Flaco, who rules that plaza at the request of Z-40. The municipality of China is only one KM away from the   busy Monterrey-Reynosa highway.


After the theory of CDG involvement in the murders went nowhere, an independent investigation by SEDENA led tot the arrest of a garrison of Zetas in the community of Vallecillos, Nuevo León. At the safe house were the suspects were detained, SEDENA officials found a large stash of automatic weapons and several ammunition clips. In addition to the aresenal, investigators also found the license plates of the vehicles that belonged missing police officers.What is important to note from this incident is that this is how Treviño Morales exerts control against certain elements within his own power structure of the Zetas organization, even against his own ally and supposed leader of the Z cartel, Heriberto Lazacano Lazacano (a) El Lazca.

The U.S. State Department has offered a $5 million dollar bounty for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Treviño Morales.

The memo from the State Department also reveals details of how Treviño Morales deals vengeance and plans executions against members of his own cartel.

First example is an incident in which Z-40 hired a sicario to kill Efraín Teodoro Torres (a) Z 14 (also called) La Chispa, who was the Zeta leader of the plaza of the gulf state of Veracruz. (plaza’s are  area’s of cartel influence, sometimes referring to state, or sometimes an important city, such as Juarez).

In another incident, Z-40 used his contacts within the PFP to give them information that was passed on to the Sub-Prosecutor Specialized against Organized Crime (SIEDO) and the office of the Attorney General (PGR). This information led to the arrest and conviction of Luis Reyes Enríquez (a) “El Rex” (also called) “Z-12”, in the town of Atonilco El Grande, en which is located in the central state of Hidalgo.

The reason for all this betrayal was that Morales Treviño was upset about being displaced as the #2 zeta, next to Heriberto Lazcano. Daniel Pérez Rojas (a) El Cachetes had taken Z-40′s position in the pecking order and was now in charge of the transit route for drugs being imported from Central America by way of Guatemala. Z-40 began filtering information to the Federal Police about the location of Daniel Pérez Rojas, in a effort to have him caught.

Daniel Pérez Rojas is one of the original 31, U.S. trained, military deserters of the former team called Airmobile Special Forces Group (GAFE), which is was considered an elite division of the Mexican military. These deserters became the founders of Los Zetas, the armed wing of the Gulf cartel (which later splintered off and became their own organization after the arrest and conviction of CDG leader Osiel Cárdenas Guillen).  Pérez Rojas was finally detained by the National Civil Police in Guatemala in April of 2008.

El Cachetes received his training from the Mexican Army, including a course in psychological warfare at the U.S. military base of Fort Bragg. He quickly became one of Heriberto Lazcano’s most trusted confidantes. El Lazca is considered to be the actual leader of  los Zetas, and he initiated the cartel’s plans to expand into the southern Mexican states. Authorities believe this strategy has includes the recent Zeta activity in Guatemala, and what “El Cachetes” was doing there in the first place.The memo indicates that “El Cachetes” was found with information that was filtered to Guatemalan police which originated from Z-40 himself.

Another zeta that was betrayed by Treviño Morales near the end of 2008 was Jaime González Durán (a) El Hummer. His telephone numbers and radio communication frequency was given to the PFP who used the coordinates to track him down in the border town of Reynosa, located in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas (near Brownsville, TX).

In November of 2009, utilizing the same method of filtering information to the PFP, Z-40 orchestrated the capture of fellow zeta  Sergio Enrique Ruiz Tlapanco, (a) “El Tlapa”, one of the principal operators (wholesale drug dealer) for los Zetas in the states of Veracruz, Tabasco and Puebla.
With this strategy, Treviño Morales, is attempting to gain absolute control over the Zeta organization, and with it, he plans the demise of the current leader, Heriberto Lazcano (a) Z-3 or El Lazca Or El Verdugo (the executioner).

In exchange for a payment of millions of dollars to the federal authorities, Z-40 planned the capture of his own boss,  Heriberto Lazcano. This was to take place during a reunion party for the top power structure of los Zetas loacted on a ranch called El Atorón, in the state of San Luís Potosí.
The PFP launched an all-out strike to capture or kill the Zeta leader, but El Lazca managed to escape unharmed.

In the ensuing chaos of the PFP crashing the Zeta party, a man of great confidence to EL Lazca, and the person in charge of the plaza of  San Luis Potosí, who was simply identified by the name Pedro, was found murdered in the street three days later, an apparent consequence of allowing the situation to occur on his territory in the first place.

During this particular operation, the PFP managed to capture El Chiricuas, lieutenant and right-hand man to Heriberto Lazcano, along with another man nicknamed Paguas Grande, who was also a high ranking Zeta.
Before this power struggle occurred, Morales Treviño was considered a confidante to Z-3, who gave him the nickname “El Cachorro”, and he held a large amount of sway within the organization.

Because of his high-profile status and the risk of attack or arrest,  El Lazca lives in a state of constant paranoia. This has generated problem with other members of his organization, especially with Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales and his group. He is particualrly wary of Z-40, whom he beleives is the one responsible for recent Zeta captures in important plazas, according to the memo from the U.S. State Department.