The Zetas’ top leader is dead and the group is seemingly splitting into pieces, but they remain Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s biggest security challenge. In this context, InSight Crime delves into how this city became a key hub.
Investigation Chapters
Part I – How the Zetas Took Monterrey
The Zetas have many sides. The group is at once sophisticated and ruthless, coordinating multi-caravan ambushes and sending hooligans to launch a wild assault on a police station. It has gang-bangers and Special Forces snipers on its payroll. It uses a sophisticated radio system and a machete in the same operation. It has a political…
Part II – The Zetas and Monterrey Math
Just days after the fire at the Casino Royale, authorities captured five suspects, one of whom was a state policeman. Officer Miguel Angel Barraza Escamilla later admitted to investigators that he was a member of the Zetas. Investigators told the press that he had various jobs, including as a lookout during operations like the tragic…
Part III – The Battle for Monterrey
In October, the Mexican Navy killed the Zetas’ top leader, Heriberto Lazcano, alias “Z-3.” Lazcano was a mythic figure, evident in the way the group marshalled several fighters to steal his body from the morgue following his death. Lazcano was also perhaps the only thing standing in…
