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Thursday, September 14, 2023

Tales of Los Zetas: El Grupo de 14

 "Itzli" for Borderland Beat.

A continued look at the formation of Los Zetas as seven more individuals joined the original seven core members.


Introduction

The origins and early history of Los Zetas is clouded by a level of uncertainty due to gaps in information, along with multiple versions of events which cannot be easily reconciled. Nevertheless, it appears that a core group, known as Los 7, was initially formed and another seven individuals would be recruited to join them. By focusing on the events within the Cártel del Golfo (CDG, Gulf Cartel) in 1998 and early 1999, a clearer picture begins to emerge.


Chava Gómez & Osiel Cárdenas 

Leadership of the CDG was seized by Salvador “El Chava” Gómez Herrera in April 1997, who would count on Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, his right-hand man, to help him lead the operations of the cartel. They are said to have become close friends and may have been associated with each other as far back as 1995


These two individuals were arrested together in the summer of 1998, yet the exact details are unclear, as multiple versions of events exist. For instance, it was said that “El Chava Gómez”, Osiel Cárdenas, and Manuel “El Meme” Alquisires García, a high-ranking member of the CDG at the time, were arrested together on June 4. Another report indicates that on June 8, the Mexican Attorney General’s Office (PGR) requested that these three individuals, along with Jorge Salinas Aguilar, be held for 90 days, although this is likely additional information regarding the June 4 arrest. An alternate version places the arrest on July 5 and the location being at a ranch known as El Refugio, located a few miles outside of Matamoros.


Despite the uncertainty as to exactly when the arrest took place, the various narratives converge on what transpired thereafter; “El Chava Gómez” and Osiel Cárdenas Guillén were sent to Mexico City, where they would be held in custody as they awaited their court date. On August 4, 1998, only “El Meme” was prosecuted as “El Chava Gómez” and Osiel Cárdenas Guillén went missing days after they were placed under house arrest. It was said that they had been allowed to escape after Osiel Cárdenas Guillén paid out bribes, be it $15 thousand to each of the four guards to look away as they escaped out the window at the house in Pedregal de San Angel, where they were being held, or a $700 thousand payment to officials. From this, warrant 52/98-C was issued on September 4, 1998, seeking the arrest of both “El Chava Gómez” and Osiel Cárdenas Guillén.


Los 7

To understand the events that follow, one should look back at the months prior. As part of a government effort to fight corruption within the Policía Judicial Federal (PFJ) members of the military, including the special forces group Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE), were placed as PFJ agents in various forces in 1997, including Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas. Some of these soldiers were corrupted, for instance Arturo Guzmán Decena defected to join the CDG on September 27, 1997.


Regarded as the founder of Los Zetas, Arturo Guzmán Decena would be tasked with recruiting other members of the military to join the cartel, though, with the existence of multiple versions of events, it is not entirely clear who directed him to do so. Nevertheless, over the course of several months we see that other members of the military defected as well, for which a tentative list of Los 7, the original seven core members of what would become Los Zetas, was created.


Amongst the original members of Los Zetas, Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, nicknamed “El Lazca”, was born on December 25, 1974 in Apan, Hidalgo. He joined the military on June 5, 1991, where he would go on to become a GAFE, and was assigned as “Agent C” of the PFJ in Miguel Alemán on June 15, 1997. From the history of “El Lazca” following his departure from the PFJ on October 30, 1997 we have a rare glimpse at the activities of one of Los 7.


On February 18, 1998, members of the military detained four individuals in Reynosa, Tamaulipas in possession of over 700 pounds of marijuana, most notably “El Lazca” and Martiniano de Jesús Jaramillo Silva, whose own criminal history as “El Pata de Queso” falls outside the scope of this writing. While this serves as evidence that “El Lazca” was criminally active at this point and implies that Los 7 had been formed or, at the very least, were in the process of being recruited, it is unclear for whom they were working for at the time.


Amidst the various conflicting narratives regarding the formation of Los Zetas are versions of events in which Gilberto “El June” García Mena, a CDG leader based in Miguel Alemán who also controlled La Frontera Chica (Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Camargo, Ciudad Mier, and Guerrero) and/or his close associate Zeferino “El Zefe” Peña Cuéllar began the recruitment of soldiers working for the PJF, with their involvement in the CDG under Osiel Cárdenas Guillén taking place at a later point in time.


Reconciling Narratives

By using a similar process as with Tales of Los Zetas: Los 7, a chronology can be created by listing military defection dates within the framework of notable cartel events. From this, the defections appear as clusters, which serve as circumstantial evidence to create lists. However, it should be noted that this process is quite tentative, as members of the military may have worked for the cartel prior to their defection date or, alternatively, there may be a gap between the time in which they left the military and when they joined the cartel. 


As previously stated, there are multiple versions of events regarding the formation of Los Zetas, with many not containing any involvement by “El June” and/or “El Zefe”. Instead, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén is the catalyst and in some narratives a conversation takes place in which he asks Arturo Guzmán Decena to recruit the best men possible to serve under him, to which Arturo Guzmán Decena replies that such men can only be found within the military. Thus, soldiers are recruited to join the ranks of the CDG as members of Los Zetas, with it implied that this took place shortly after Arturo Guzmán Decena defected from the military in September 1997.


However, by looking at the narratives thoroughly, there is a possible way to reconcile some of the versions of events that appear to be contradictory. Though rarely mentioned, there are versions in which Osiel Cárdenas Guillén learns of Arturo Guzmán Decena from “El June”.


Months after at least seven individuals that would later be regarded as founding members of Los Zetas had defected from the military, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén was arrested in either June or July of 1998 and, thereafter, we see another wave of defections. Perhaps Los 7 were recruited by “El June” and/or “El Zefe” and operated under them, up until the point that Osiel Cárdenas Guillén escaped in Mexico City. In this scenario, he returned to Tamaulipas and decided to seek out the “best” protection possible, as he knew authorities would seek to recapture him. Thus, “El June” introduced him to Arturo Guzmán Decena, who proceeded to recruit others to join Los 7, who would then serve under Osiel. 


Additional Recruits

“At first there were seven, and later thereafter seven more of us arrived, which made up the fourteen, which were the oldest of us”, were the words of “El Mamito” in his declaration following his arrest. We have created a tentative list of the first seven, now let us look at who may be among the next seven.


  1. Gustavo González Castro- Nicknamed “El Erótico”, he was born in Tuxpan, Veracruz on July 1, 1973. According to government records he joined the military/air forces on March 22, 1990 as an infantry soldier and was promoted to corporal in 1995. Later, he requested to be discharged from active service and be placed in the reserves, which was granted on August 1, 1998. He would go on to adopt the code name Z-15 and/or Z15-HK49.

  2. Efraín Teodoro Torres- Nicknamed “El Efra” and “El Chispa”, he was born in Veracruz, Veracruz. According to government records he joined the military/air forces on August 1, 1991 as an infantry soldier and was promoted to corporal in 1993. He eventually deserted the military and was officially discharged on September 13, 1998. He would go on to adopt the code name Z-14 and/or Z14-HK26.

  3. Mateo Díaz López- Born in Cunduacán, Tabasco, according to government records he joined the military on September 16, 1996 as a member of the calvary. He eventually deserted the military and was officially discharged on September 20, 1998. He would go on to adopt the code name Z-10 and/or Z10-HK40, although some sources refer to him as Z-6.


Before we continue, it should be noted that it has been reported that at least some of Los Zetas were recruited from the 15th battalion and the 70th battalion of the 5th Regiment of the Motorized Cavalry. This is reflected in a document claiming that this took place in “the last semester of 1998”, as well as saying that a declassified document from the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) noted that Arturo Guzmán Decena had been spotted with active military members in a Miguel Alemán bar in December 1998. However, this information should be taken with a grain of salt until the source documents, should they truly exist, are found.


  1. José Ramón Dávila López- Nicknamed “El Cholo”, he was reported to have joined the military in 1987 as an infantry soldier. He would be trained in parachuting and reach the rank of sergeant before deserting the military on January 4, 1999.

  2. Luis Alberto Guerrero Reyes- Nicknamed “El Guerrero”. According to government records he joined the military on March 1, 1987 as an infantry soldier and received parachuting training April 11-17, 1988. He was promoted to corporal on November 1, 1990 and sergeant on March 1, 1992. He eventually deserted the military and was officially discharged on January 4, 1999. He would go on to adopt the code name Z-5 and/or Z5-HK20.

  3. Raul Alberto Trejo Benavides- Nicknamed “El Alvin”, he was born in Villahermosa, Tabasco.  According to government records he joined the military on May 3, 1991 and requested to be discharged, which was granted on March 16, 1999.

  4. Jesús Enrique Rejón Aguilar- Nicknamed “El Mamito”, he was born in Sabancuy, Campeche in 1976. According to government records he joined the military on April 5, 1993 and was discharged on November 26, 1999, following his desertion which is reported to have taken place in March 1999. He would go on to adopt the code name Z-7 and/or Z7-HK31.

48 comments:

  1. When do we get the story of Los 3 del Cartel De Sinaloa?

    Composed of Sicario 006, El Teniente Fantasma , and El Bravo Aponte .
    Who formed the Talibanes a 300 army of ex Special Forces Tier 1 Operators that provided security for El Chapo Guzman.

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    1. You forgot cholo Ivan . Nah but in all seriousness a remember bb did a piece on the chapitos jefe de plazas . Would be interesting for BB to do one about the mayos and menchos main jefes de plazas

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    2. 3:39 it would be really bad ass, but lets be real Menchos guys are a little more quiet, so not much info is out there, and mayos people we pnly know about them cause of the corridos so the info is so exagerated that no body in their right mind would believes even 10% of what they say in their corridos, now Z's at least they info is on record

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    3. And trained by kabiles in the jungles of Guatemala and were the only operators to place in the top of there class

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    4. It’s on record that the zetas got their asses handed to them by LFM that’s for sure!!

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    5. 9:46 I agree with you but also disagree at the same time . I feel out of the CDS the MZ faction is more low-key I feel they learned after the notoriety the antrax got . Also CJNG does have a lot of corridos the thing is they are not as popular and mainstream as the cds ones . And for sure I feel like the Mexican drug world was a big before and after the zetas entered the picture they militarized the cartels big time

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    6. El Bravo Aponte and El Teniente Fantasma were also GAFE and with higher rank than los Zetas

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    7. 7:51 groupies are about to start bashing you that you heared that in a a corrido and they you are a CDS supporter but yeah I think they had gafe training

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  2. I remember drinking at a bar getting into a gun figth with zeta members in Laredo in those years my brother got kidnapped i hired 400 gun man to rescue him after 3 days of gun figths we were able to free him good old days 😉 mexico was lawless

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    1. You should make a Netflix movie about it.

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    2. 4:10 and then you woked up . Nice dream though

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    3. 410 in what CDS corrido did you hear that story?

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    4. 7:49 😂😂😂😂😂😂 I was about to ask the same question, only CDS corridos would say some bull shit like that and their fans believe it 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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    5. 9:48 calm down emoji kid . Ain't it passed your bed time

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  3. Man the zetas must have felt unstoppable when they first started off lol the only special forces guys in the field at that point y

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    1. That is until they tried to set foot into MICHOACÁN and they got slaughtered the hell up!!!!!!

      Semper Fi

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    2. Early 2000s I once was in a USMC platoon of full of Michoacán raza. Them zetas got dealt with by Michoacános but these sympathizers and cheerleaders all in denial.

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    3. 4:19 yep at the time they fighting other cartels was like Barcelona with messy, iniesta, shavy and the rest of the dream team on their prime playing against Gallos de Queretaro 😂

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    4. Zetas got packed out because them Michoacános are no joke look how they tell Jalisco what to do and take over Tamps like nothing. Mexicans are tribal and no other tribe comes close to the Purepecha when it’s comes to ruthlessness.

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    5. There is this Mexican YouTuber called El gafe423 dude sounds legit . Supposedly he was a special force member during the Calderon term and he talks about the zetas In a few videos. He says how it was basically them and all the cartels against the last letter

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    6. 5:02 yes he's legit. Recently he talked about the unusualness of both the IED attack in Tlajomulco and the Lagos de Moreno case as he's based in the ZMG I think but for sure he's in Jalisco.

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  4. Well done recap of the history of Osiel’s creation and recruitment of Los zetas Itzli - thank you. I was unaware of Osiel’s house arrest escape that you shared.

    Reading this reminded me of so many confident comments that Los Zetas would eventually take control of Mexico, and my opinion back then was the same as I feel about CJNJ; which is that terrorizing your populace is a short term model (although I must admit CJNG has outlasted my expectations).

    My hypothesis is that Isidro, Mayo’s faction, and several less known independents will continue to grow and dominate exports of narcotics from Mexico; and that the fent traffickers and undisciplined groups who depend on extortion and kidnapping revenue will endure resistance and ultimate extinction.
    Regards, CDM

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    1. Do you really believe Chapo Isidro, Mayo and those other "lesser known independents" do not engage in extortion in plazas that aren't in Sinaloa to fund their sicarios? LOL.
      Those times have passed. The creation of Los Z and the further addition of the sicario groups needed to protect plazas and fight for turf have obligated "cartels" to generate revenue through other means as they cannot solely fund those groups through drug profits. Ni que solo ellos vendieran todo el jale EEUU.

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    2. The cdg zetas did rule a lot of territory especially in the eastern side of mexico but egos greed murder and treason amongst themselves fucked it all up by about 2010. As a cartel they didnt last but a few years and as soon as lazcano was gone internal problems divided them further. The idea of a special group of sicarios by the cdg goes to the days of of el comando de la muerte created by juan garcia abrego. El june had the idea of hiring guzman decena el z as a bodyguard because he did not want to carry assault rifles for protection but a soldier could.

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    3. 4:41 🤦 comparing Z's and CJNG is like comparing apples to oranges, Z's were always killers, CJNG have always been trafickers (Cartel del Milenio) so if you think they are gonna go away like Z's, inwould not hold my breath, just do a little research on the CDM and you will find out who they were and are now, CJNG is half of the CDM just so you know 😉 sorry to crush your hopes but CJNG aint going no where for a while, maybe if you get lucky in like 10 years theres is gonna be a big fight inside the cartel that might split them but wont finish them, but as of right now i see CDS splitting before CJNG does, and plz dont tell me the Pajaros sierra or la vaca were big splits from CJNG cause they oviously were just a pair of nobodies, Beltranes were way more important to CDS than those two that i mentioned to CJNG were, plus lets now add the infight between chapitos, mayos and Guanos, CDS is closer to splitting and getting weaker than CJNG is, dont get me wrong CJNG at one point is gonna go the same path but not any time soon

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    4. 10:22 agreed while CDS CDG zetas lfm where all to busy fighting los cuinis where getting rich and staying out of the wars but also helped that CJNG ended up keeping alot of nachos coronels drug cartel blueprint if you could day .

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    5. 10:22, Pablo and his compadres were to hot and got silenced by the gov. The Z got to hot and were killed and the same goes for the jaliscas. The golfos splintered, sinaloa will splitter when the old man dies. Only one cartel is and will control mexico and that is the fucking government.

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    6. 10:22 The Zetas began as enforcers (killers) as did Mata Zetas (now CJNG); but the Zetas also had also been trafficking well before Decena was purportedly deceased. Drug cases in Austin, Dallas, and other cities clearly establish this.

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    7. 9:24 finally someone with a brain the real cartel in Mexico is the government. Chapo mencho and mayo know it . Why you think the old man mayo has been around so damn long always showing work for the government giving up people. Cartels come and go a big example the Zetas but the politicians and their last name keep on going

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    8. 10:37 thats were you are wrong, the Mata Zetas was just a hitt squad from CDM, look even if i give you details you still think CJNG (CDM) are just a bunch of killers but in reality you dont get to control and spand to so many states with out strategies and deeeeepppp pockets, they learned after they got kicked out from michoacan by LFM and Z's

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  5. In Durango, Durango there's two large properties around Niños Héroes and Tierra y Libertad. One is a huge finca off a dirt alley. The other is a large two-story house that was never completed. The finca belonged to an old man that I know nothing about. The unfinished house was being built for one of the og zetas. Non of these names sound familiar. El Hummer is the only name I can think of but I am nowhere certain it was his. The man from the finca was placed in charge of building the house. He found out who he was working for and shit hit the fan. Everybody that was associated with the finca disappeared. Some of their bodies, maybe including the old man, where left by Las Alamedas /Plaza Fundadores/Plazuela. The one left hanging off the bridge over Dolores del Río is believed to be the old man. That house has remained untouched all this time. It's built like a middle east compound with high cinder block perimeter wall and no greenery. The locals forget it's even there while standing right in front of it. Since I already commented here and how government works in Durango I'm not about to go around asking about it 👹

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    1. Pretend to be non spanish speaking European tourist fascinated with the architecture and buildings and not a mexican or a gringo. Talk about bavaria, german cars, german beer, footbool and maybe even hitler. Be polite and spend some money here and there and you are fine.

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    2. Chatting about Hitler to the locals sounds like a good way to break the ice and blend in, but every fan of fut knows how bad-ass Bayern and some of those other German teams are..
      Nobody will truly believe you're German unless you complain that Mexicans are always late, never on time, and you arrogantly point out how the only reason some Mexican brewskis are palatable is because kraut brewmeisters brought their beer-making secrets from the old country after WW1..
      Maybe better just to Google Earth this unfinished castle, bc skulking around alleys in Durango just might get you stung by a scorpion
      🦎

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    3. Fuck the Germans!

      Semper Fi

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    4. @Semper Fi 👍

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  6. ¿Dónde están los Flanders y Whinnie Pooh?

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  7. What happen to Gustavo Castro???, he was never killed or caught.

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  8. semper Fi michoacano guy makes those zetas look like schoolgirls.

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    1. Golfo makes everyone look like schoolgirls lol and they the reason Los Zetas were brought down

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    2. Being proud of a bunch of morons fucking up their own house. Sounds like a plan.

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  9. Is El Zefe related to Pancho Cuellar? The guy who betrayed z40?

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  10. I think we got Lazca's numbers in the article mixed up: "He joined the military on June 5, 1999, where he would go on to become a GAFE, and was assigned as “Agent C” of the PFJ in Miguel Alemán on June 15, 1997."

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    1. Thanks for the heads up! Typo, should have been June 5, 1991, I got it corrected now.

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  11. So wat happened to comandante kilo from los zetas?

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  12. Otro ojete, que ojala sienta pena la madre que lo pario.

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  13. Takes me back to 2010 when the pot was just starting to boil in Mataulipas.

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  14. 6:27 pm eres del norte de Tamaulipas?

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