El Lazca's family was well off

El Diario

10-11-2012

Translated by un vato for Borderland Beat

Singuilucan, Hidalgo– 54 kilometers (32 miles) from the capital city of the state of Hidalgo lies the country that witnessed the growth of one of the founders of the of the criminal organization known as “Los Zetas.” Here, in a community of more than 10,000 inhabitants, is where Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, “El Z-3,”who according to the Mexican Navy was gunned down in the town of Progreso, Coahuila, spent the first years of his life.

People close to the capo will tell you that Heriberto is one of three sons from Ramon Lazcano’s first marriage. His two brothers are Pedro and Gabriel, with whom he grew up during the first three years of his life until he moved with his family to the municipality of Apan.

There, the Lazcanos took up farming and cattle ranching, until they became one of the biggest producers and one of the wealthiest families in the county. Those who knew Heriberto recall that the family adapted quickly to Apan, but, despite that, the three sons were sent to the D.F. (Distrito Federal) to study. Nobody remembers exactly where in the capital they were sent, but Pedro received an education closely linked to the Church, which led him to become a priest for a few years, although he left that afterwards. Gabriel, his other brother, had a life much like Heriberto Lazcano’s, and he joined the military for some years.

After living in the Mexican capital, the three brothers went back with their family and moved to the city of Pachuca in the 1990′s. It was after that that the capo joined the military, from which he deserted in 1998 to become a member of the “Los Zetas” criminal organization, which began as the enforcement arm of Osiel Cardenas, former leader of the Gulf Cartel.  

From there, Lazcano had a house built for his mother in the El Tezontle neighborhood, an area from which the drug trafficker could see everything that went on around him. In that same neighborhood the capo built a church beside the old San Juan de los Lagos chapel. The temple is guarded by a metal cross more than 15 ft. tall, and on the back side, a plaque that gives thanks to the capo.

Both the three story house, which is located on a hill, and the church are located only a few yards from the 18th Military Zone, from which one can see a mausoleum, also built by the capo, made to resemble the church.

People that say they knew the narco recall that it was very common to see Heriberto, not only in El Tezontle, but also in the municipalities of Tulancingo and Apan, where he was guarded by kaibiles (elite soldiers from Guatemala).