Zeta leader sentenced to 7 life sentences in United States

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Reforma article

Subject Matter: Marciano Milan Vazquez, El Chano, Orejon
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required

Reporter: Mauro de la Fuente
Marciano Milan Vazquez alias El  Chano or Orejon, leader of Los Zetas in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, allegedly responsible for the deaths of 300 persons, was sentenced to seven life sentences.

The ruling was announced Wednesday by the Judge of the West District Court in San Antonio, Xavier Rodriguez. Between 2011 and 2012, the Los Zetas cartel ordered the death of 300 people, including women and children, said a witness identified as J. Rodriguez in the Milan Vazquez trial in June of 2016.

The desertion of one of its leaders identified as Mario Alfonso Poncho Cuellar, said, that and internal struggle was unleashed that ended with the elimination of the allies of the latter in the organization.

Cuellar was a trusted man and compadre of Omar Trevino Morales, alias El Z-42, brother of Miguel Trevino Morales, alias El Z-40, leader of Los Zetas, both arrested in Mexico. His departure from the cartel was due to the theft of 10,000,000 dollars, according to J. Rodriguez testimony before the West District Court in San Antonio.

He detailed that most of the people who were murdered were disintegrated in containers of chemicals such as acids.The orders were to go ahead and kill everyone connected in any way with Poncho Cuellar, he said.

Women, children, adults, some had nothing to do with the cartel or drugs, there were a lot of people, more than 300 people. The kidnappings were carried out in Allende, Morelos, Acuna and Piedras Negras.

“In Piedras Negras they only told me that they 40 people on the knees, and simply, bang, bang bang, they died”, he said.

Poncho Cuellar who is incarcerated in Texas, testified at the trial of Jose Trevino Morales, another brother of El Z-40, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for money laundering.