This is how Los Zetas committed Massacres. "When it was over, we slept normally"

Translated by Chuck B Almada for Borderland Beat from an El Pais article
October 10, 2016
Written by Pablo De Llano (El Pais)

Under the direction of Political expert, Sergio Aguayo and the sponsorship of the Comisión Ejecutiva de Atención a Víctimas, the Centro de Estudios Internacionales del Colegio de México, an investigation was carried out; that report was named “Abandonment (en el Desamparo).” This report analyzed these two terrible cases and highlighted the lack of attention received on the victims and with the conclusion that didn’t surprise anyone: “The state has not done its homework.”
 

Allende Municipality, Coahuila- March 2011. What happened in Allende? Did it last days, weeks, or months? How many died? Allende is the darkest mystery during the Zetas reign of terror. Witness statements that have never been confirmed have talked about 300 disappearances. The report believes that the official number is of 42 disappearances in a 14 month period, 26 of them from a single weekend in March 2011. During this weekend, a group of Los Zetas on behalf of the Treviño brothers, summoned the 26 victims (all 26 were relatives, friends, and associates of three Zeta members that were on the hit list) to Allende so that they could kill them in retaliation for the three Zeta members that cooperated with the DEA and also for stealing between 5 and 10 million dollars. As it was tradition, they killed people, burned their bodies with gasoline, destroyed their homes. Meanwhile, the municipal police in Allende, at the service of the Treviños, simply looked the other way and did nothing.

Police for hire-“ The police forces obeyed the orders given to them.” According to the report, orders were to “not go out on patrol and to ignore calls for service.” The only humanitarian deed on behalf of the corrupt officers that day was that of a female officer working for Los Zetas who found a little girl of 5 years and a 3 year old boy and got them out of there and took them to another town. Nothing guaranteed that the Zetas would have mercy: a year later in Allende, some family members of the three “traitors” were found and killed. This was a family that consisted of the husband, wife, and their two children, ages 6 and a newborn. This new act of retaliation was carried out by both sicarios and police officers.

According to the report, “In 2010 and 2011, Los Zetas had at their service the 38 police officers of San Fernando and the 20 from Allende.” However, the officers got involved with Los Zetas in a different ways” Some became complicit while others kept their distance but didn’t confront or fight the criminals. The report explains the easiness of buying police officers in Mexico. The report highlighted that an officer would charge at least 300 dollars per month in that region. For example, to have the entire police force in Allende in their payroll, Los Zetas only needed [$6,000] dollars a month. This amount is nothing compared to the millions of dollars that this organization made from the sales of cocaine, kidnappings, and extortion.

Today, the Zetas Cartel has lost its unity. Its historical leaders are no longer in the game. Heriberto Lazacano AKA El Verdugo was killed and his body was mysteriously stolen by a Zetas commando. Miguel Angel Trevino AKA Z40 is currently incarcerated. The organization has become fragmented to the point that the current status of the cartel is unknown; however, its violence is very alive in Gulf States; especially Veracruz and Tamaulipas. Meanwhile, Mexico tries to understand the deadly episodes in the history of this young criminal organization.