(U) Los Zetas: AnEmerging Threat tothe United States · Los Zetas, they quickly developed into well-trained, brutal cartel enforcers. Since that timeLos Zetas has grown into a sizeable,

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(U) Los Zetas: An Emerging Threat to the UnitedStates

July15, 2005

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(U) Los Zetas: An Emerging Threat to the United States

(U) Scope Note

(U) This Intelligence Assessment addresses standing FBI Drug Trafficking Organization(DrO) Requirements Set Partl.Cl.Dl-2,· PartII.A.l.C.2,· andPart IILBA-5.

(U/IJ;"OUO) The purpose of this assessment is to provide an overview of the Los Zetascriminal organization, specifically to evaluate both what is known and unknownregarding the group. The assessment focuses on Los Zetas' operational capability,criminal involvement, organizational structure, and overall threat to the United States.Unless otherwise specified, information contained in this report is derived from FBIintelligence.

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(U) Key Judgments

• (U//FODO) Los Zetas has developed into a sizeable organization threatening thesecurity of cities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas and menacing US citizensnorth of the border. Los Zetas controls the major drug trafficking corridors alongthe south Texas/Mexico border for the Gulf Cartel and is involved in or linked tonumerous criminal activities including kidnapping, murder, and- alien smuggling.The group is undermining Mexican law enforcement efforts in Nuevo Laredo, theprimary location of recent drug-related violence. In June 2005, the Governmentof Mexico sent federal forces to Nuevo Laredo to restoreorder to the city. As LosZetashas corrupted many Mexican public officials in the Nuevo Laredo-area, thegovernment will likely achieve limited success at controlling their activities.

• (UIIFOUO) Los Zetas has positioned itself as the strongest force within the GulfCartel. The group possesses the training and firepower to eliminate challengerswithin the cartel and fend off external cartelfoes.

• (U//FOUO) Since the late 2002 death of Zeta leader Arturo Guzman Decena(a.k.a. Zeta 1), the leadership structure of Los Zetas has become more fluid.Though several lieutenants have assumed some degree of control, no one hasreplaced him.

• (UI/FOUO) FBI reporting suggests Los Zetas has some of the' capabilities andresources to break away from the Gulf Cartel and form an autonomousorganization. The group likely amasses sizeable earnings from independenttransactions conducted in cartel drug trafficking corridors. These earningscompliment stipendsreceivedfrom the cartel. Likewise, as an organization adeptat intelligence gathering, they can collect vast amounts of information on cartelactivities and could potentially coordinate a strike with military precisionagainstthe Gulf Cartel. Los Zetas' lack of a strong leader probably impedes theimmediate planning and execution of any such designs. Further, there is noinformation to suggest the group has a direct cocaine supplier from Colombia, arequirement to successfully sever tieswith the cartel.

• (UIIFOUO) The overall membership of Los Zetas is increasing despite havinglost several core members. The group has supplemented its membership withnew recruits. Similarly, Los Zetashas established alliances with prison and streetgangs operating in the United States. These connections more solidly root thegroup on US soil and allow it to expand its influences throughoutTexas.

• (liIIFOliO) It is unlikely that Los Zetas will significantly widen its operationsbeyond the US/Mexico border. By limiting the scope of its activities, the groupcan continue to closely protect its interests. Although Los Zetas has madeincursions into north Texas including, the FBI has not confirmedreports of Zetaactivity in Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, or Georgia.

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(U) Introduction

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(U//FOUO) The FBI attributes much of the current drug-related violence along theUS/Mexico border between Del Rio and Brownsville, Texas, to Los Zetas. The leadersof Los Zetas, highly trained former Mexican military Special Forces, have applied theirelite skills to the drug trade. While allied with the Gulf Cartel drug traffickingorganization, Los Zetas members are likely engaged in semi-independent drug traffickingactivity which involves drug transactions and related violence in Texas. Within the lastyear, Los Zetas has developed into a significant threat to the border region.

(U) Origins: Mexican Military Special Forces

(U//FOUO) In 2002, I "I the Gulf Cartel's leader, tightened hisgrasp over drug trafficking corridors in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas and hired asmall group of Mexican military deserters as assassins and security specialists. Known asLos Zetas, they quickly developed into well-trained, brutal cartel enforcers. Since thattime Los Zetas has grown into a sizeable, semi-independent organization.

(U//FOUO) Los Zetas emerged from the Grupo Aeromovil de Fuerzas Especiales(GAFE), a Mexican army unit created in the mid 1990s to combat drug traffickingorganizations along the US/Mexico border. The GAFE received special training intactics and weapons. The US military provided some of this instruction at Fort Benning,Georgia. These elite counter-drug troops learned to use sophisticated intelligencegathering equipment, advanced weaponry, and specialized tactics to combat drugtraffickers. They fought to limit the escalating warfare among traffickers in Tamaulipasafter the 1996 arrest ofJuan Garcia Abrego, the Gulf Carters leader at the time.

(U//FOUO) An unknown number of GAFE soldiers tinder the command of ArturoGuzman Decena deserted and joined the Gulf Cartel in early 2002.1 Reports differ onexact figures but range from 31 to 67 deserters. They dubbed themselves Los Zetas afterDecena's GAFE radio call signal, "Zeta 1.11 Subsequently in a March 2002 shootout,group members helped a I Ieludecapture by Mexican authorities. In May 2002, Los Zetas delivered control of NuevoLaredo, Mexico to I Iby murdering his primary rivals Dionicio RomanGarcia Sanchez and Juvenal Torres Sanchez.

(U) Relationship with Gulf Cartel

(U//FOUO) According to FBI information, Los Zetas members have served as GulfCartel henchmen, effectively executing the orders of cartel leadership. However,developments within the Gulf Cartel's leadership structure and the Zeta hierarchy havecomplicated dealings between the groups. As a result, Los Zetas may be moving awayfrom its role as "hired guns" for the cartel and beginning to exercise more autonomy.

I Thefirst official FBIdescription of LosZetas as anorganized group of GulfCartelenforces occurs in FBISan Antonio electronic communication, "Organized Crime & Drug Program Crime Survey," 30August2002.

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(UI/FOUO) Two critical leadership shifts have muddied the relationship between theGulf Cartel and Los Zetas. First, the Mexican military killed Guzman Decena in aNovember 2002 shootout. No one has successfully filled the void left by GuzmanDecena; however, Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano (a.k.a, Lazca) has assumed a degree ofoverall control and several Zetas have become re ional commanders. Second, Mexicanmilitary apprehended and jailed in 2003. Before this, Los Zetaslikely worked underhis immediate direction. till runs the Cartel fromprison, but lieutenants haveassumed theresponsibilities for day-to-day operations.

• (UI/FOUO) According to FBI intelligence, shortly afterI Icapture in 2003, Los Zetas leaders discussed killing key cartel lieutenants toassume control of the organization's operations. They balked at this option forunknown reasons and still take orders from the cartel. Nonetheless, this suggestsa sense of Zeta independence and may help explain some of the group's bolderactions in the last twoyears.

(UI/FOUO) FBI intelligence reporting suggests that Los Zetas does not plan tocompletely breakfromthe Gulf Cartel in thenear future. However, LosZetas is growingin number, spreading geographically, and possibly biding time until the appropriatemoment to assert itselfagainst theGulfCartel.

(U) Membership

(UI/FOUO) It is difficult to determine the parameters of Los Zetas membership andorganizational structure. According to Intelligence Community reporting, few clearlinesdistinguishing between full-fledged members, associates, and imitators exist. A coregroup of original Zetas, those who deserted with Guzman Decena, remain. According toFBI intelligence, approximately 20 still work for the cartel. However, they continue torecruit and train new members from the Mexican military and law enforcement. FBIsources estimate LosZetas membership between 300 and350, including original andnewmembers.

(U//FOUO) New recruits, referenced in FBI reporting as Zetitas, have bolstered LosZetas ranks withinthe last 18 months. Theyconsist of young Gulf Cartel operatives andZeta family members. They are allegedly more violent than their leaders and may bebehind much of the drug-related turmoil occurring along the border. Zetitas appear toserve as foot soldiers for the core Zetas who act as officers. Unless otherwise specified,FBI useof the term "Los Zetas" refers to thegroup's coremembers and associates--ZetasandZetitas.'

(UI/FOUO) FBI reporting also references Zeta "wannabes." This designationdistinguishes between Zetas and unrelated individuals using similar modi operandi. Theextent of the wannabe phenomenon is unknown, but it is unlikely that criminal groups are

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(U) Leadership Structure

(VIIFOVO) Lazca emerged as the leader of Los Zetas after Guzman Decena's death in2002, but has not consolidated control over the organization. Rather, Los Zetas has likelydeveloped a more fluid structure with commanders roving the South Texas border.Several Zeta lieutenants can work in an area, readily moving between plazas.' Thesecommanders lead varying numbers ofZetas within their territories.

(VIIFOVO) According to FBI sources, Los Zetas members typically receive ordersdirectly from regional Gulf Cartel lieutenants. FBI intelligence indicates that several keyLos Zetas operatives are working various plazas along the border. These plazas areidentifiedbelow.

• (UIIFOUO) Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico: II ILos Zetas in the city of Piedras Neg-ra-s-.---------

o (VIIFOVO) According to the I I1 -----11

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• (VIIFOUm Nuevo Laredo Tamauli as, Mexico:

L...- ---Jros Zetas operations in Nuevo Lare o.

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o (VIIFOVO) Several Zetas I Iareresident aliens of Laredo,Te-x-as-.--------------J

o (U//FOUO Hector Sauceda Gamboa a.k.a. EI Karis

• rallFOUm Ciudad Mi uel Aleman and Ciudad Camargo, Mexico: b6b7C

Zeta activity in the vicinity 0---------_---1these Mexican towns.

• (UIIFOUO) Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico: II tis primarily based in Reynosa. '-- ----l

3 "Plaza" refers to an area controlled by a drug-trafficking organization. This controlinvolves of corruptionof public officials and the protection of trafficking corridors from othercriminals.

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o (U//FOUO Gulf CartelII f Hector Sauceda Gamboa.

• (UIIFOUO) Matamaros, Tamaulipas, Mexico: Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano(aka. Lazca) represents LosZetas in thisGulfCartel stronghold.

o (U//FOUO)I~_-;-- ----lt runs carteloperations in the region.

o (VI/FOUO) Of particular note is that Lazca, the reputedheadof Los Zetas,and EI Coss, the individual likely in charge of day-to-day Gulf Carteloperations, workin the same city.

(U) Capabilities and Operations

(UI/FOUO) Los Zetas is a versatile criminal organization tied to numerous illicitactivities including public corruption, alien smuggling, kidnapping, assault, murder,extortion, and money laundering. The majority of these crimes facilitate their drugtrafficking activities.

(UI/FOUO) Like othersophisticated drug trafficking groups, LosZetasuses assault rifles,grenades, armored vehicles, and advanced communications equipment. Unlike othertraffickers, the elite military background of its leaders enables Los Zetas to mountcomplicated, precise operations.

• (U//FOUO) In January 2004, disguised as Mexican soldiers and federal agents inmilitary vehicles, approximately 40 armed Zetasbroke into the Apatzingan prisonin Michoacan, Mexico. They freed approximately 25 prisoners, including severalZetas. One police officer died during the incident. I Ipossiblyordered this mission, in part, to evaluate the likelihood of his own escape from LaPalma Maximum Security Prison. Open source reporting indicates Los Zetastrained in Michoacan, Mexico, for thispurpose.

(UI/FOUO) Accordin~g_to_s_o_u_rc_e..:.re~p:..:.o....;rt_in..::g::Jo- .L..

I(U/IFOUO) Because oftheir military skills, LosZetas members are capable of other, lesstactical operations as well. While still part of the Mexican military, the original Zetascompleted specialized training in intelligence collection, surveillance techniques, andoperational planning. Theylikelypass thisknowledge on to newrecruits.

• (U//FOUO) FBI reporting indicates Los Zetas employs "lookouts" or "halcones"to surveil Nuevo Laredo. These individuals search the city for members of the

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rival Chapo Guzman Mexican drug trafficking organization. The lookoutsmonitor city streets, government buildings, tourist venues, highways, ports ofentry, and hotels.

(0) Drug Trafficking

(U//FOUO) Los Zetas handles a majority of the Gulf Cartel's drug operations. Part ofthis responsibility includes the protection of cartel-controlled plazas, a job which hasearned Los Zetas a reputation for ruthlessness. In particular, Los Zetas has battled theexpansion of Chapo Guzman's drug trafficking organization into Tamaulipas. Theresulting bloodyconflicthas destabilized Mexican bordertowns in the state.

• (U//FOUO) In the first half of 2005, several Mexican police officers weremurdered in and around Nuevo Laredo. These killings resulted from the drugrelatedturf war betweenthe GulfCartel and Chapo Guzman.

•

• (U/IFOUO) While protecting Gulf Cartel turf and collecting taxes on illicitactivities in Gulf Cartelplazas, LosZetasmay alsobe simultaneously engaging insemi-independent drug trafficking. However, the FBI has no reporting indicatingLos Zetas has developed direct connections with Colombian cocaine suppliers.Rather, they likely acquire their cocaine from the cartel. Because of Los Zetas'continued cooperation with the Gulf Cartel, it is difficult to distinguish betweencartel-directed operations and independent Zeta ventures. Regardless, Los Zetasis responsible for. most of the Gulf Cartel-controlled drugs transiting corridors in

,Tamaulipas.

(U) RecentDevelopments in NuevoLaredo

(UI/FOUO) Los Zetas has established control overNuevo Laredo, Mexico. Much of therecent drug-related border violence has transpired in or around the city which is locateddirectly across the border from Laredo, Texas. Until June 2005, Los Zetas effectivelycontrolled the city's police force.

• (U//FOUO) The FBI reported the abduction of 35 US citizens along the borderbetween Texas and Mexico from May 2004to May 2005. Twenty-eight of theseabductions transpired in Nuevo Laredo and law enforcement suspects Zetainvolvement in at least24 of these instances.

• (U//FOUO) On 7 June 2005, assailants murdered Nuevo Laredo police chiefAlejandro Dominguez Coello onlyhours afterhis swearingin.

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(VI/FOUO) 1......------------------1I(U) Drug-Related Kidnappings Involving US Citizens

(UlIFOUO) As mentioned above, Los Zetas members have kidnapped approximately 35US citizens. Most of these abductions occurred in Mexico. Los Zetas kidnapsindividuals for various reasons, including extortion, association with unsuccessful drugtransactions, defiance of the Gulf Cartel, and cooperation with rival drug traffickingorganizations.

• (U//FOUO) According to FBI sources, in I

(UI/FOUO) Law enforcement has connected Los Zetas to at least 28 (80 percent) of the35 reported abductions of US citizens occurring along the South Texas border betweenMay 2004 and May 2005. However, the numbers are significantly higher whenconsidering unreported abductions.

(U) US Activity

(UI/FOUO) Los Zetas oversees Gulf Cartel drug shipments at south Texas bordercrossings. These activities have involved incursions and operations in the United States.Recent developments highlight Zeta activity in Texas. It is unclear if Zeta inroads intothe United States reflect attempts to establish permanent US bases of operation. Likewise,whether Los Zetas plans to expand its US efforts beyond Texas remains unconfirmed.

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• (UIIFOUO) In early June 2005, assailants gunned down Cesario Carrera, (a.k.a.Cuate) in Laredo. Prior to his death, the FBI and Drug EnforcementAdministration (DEA) were investigating Cuate, reportedly the Zeta in charge ofoperations in Laredo. The FBI and DEA suspected his involvement in a May2004 kidnapping and three Laredo murders. Cuate coordinated drug shipmentsthrough Laredo to Dallas and Houston, Texas, and allegedly transported two tothree 2,000 poundshipments of marijuana and20 to 25 kilograms of cocaine eachmonth. Cuate workedwithGulfCartel lieutenant HectorSauceda Gamboa.

• (UIIFOUO) In June2004 DEA a ents arrestedIindicates tha L.. ....J

• (UIIFOUO) In May 2005, the FBI and Laredo Police Department suspected Zetainvolvement in a double homicide. Responding officers discovered 3,000 poundsof marijuana, likelya stolen GulfCartel load, at the home of the deceased.

• (UI/FOUO) Claims of Los Zetas activity in Atlanta, Georgia; Arizona; easternOklahoma; Tennessee; and Arkansas have surfaced. However, the FBI has notsubstantiated theseclaims.

(U//FOUO) LosZetashas forged connections withbothprisonand streetgangs in Texas.Thegroup uses these alliances to strengthen itsoperational capabilities.

• (UIIFOUO) According to FBI sources, Los Zetas has developed ties with afaction of Hermanos Pisoleros Latinos (HPL), a prison gang based in Laredo.HPL is the largest criminal organization operating in the city and has splinteredinto competitive groups. Another faction of the HPL operating in the Laredo areatransports largeshipments of cocaine from Chapo Guzman'sorganization.

• (UIIFOUO) FBI information indicates that Los Zetas employs both TexasSyndicate andMexican Mafia members as contract killers.

• (UIIFOUO) According to FBI information, Los Zetas allowed Mara Salvatrucha(MS-13), a violent Latino gang, to transport marijuana shipments through LosZetas territory without paying tax. Los Zetas permitted MS-13 toconduct thisactivity only if the group also smuggled Los Zetas-controlled drugs. Therelationship soured when Los Zetas began taxing MS-13 activities. The gangsubsequently aligned withChapo Guzman.

(U//FOUO) No clear motive exists for Los Zetas presence in the United States. Theextent of the group's activity in Texas and beyond remains unclear as well. Severalscenarios potentially account for this trend:

• (UIIFOUO)I .....J

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(U) Targeting of US Law Enforcement

(U//FOUO) Intelligence reporting suggests that Los Zetas may have intimidated and/orthreatened US law enforcement on several recent occasions.

•

• (U//FOUO) In June 2005, a Laredo Police officer noticed unknown subjectsfollowing him while on duty. The officer was able to maneuver his patrol carbehind the pursuing vehicle. The ensuing chase concluded along a dirt roadrunning parallel to the Rio Grande. As the officer called for backup, dust cloudskicked up by the pursuit obscured his vision, but he heard several gunshots firedin his direction. When the dust cleared, the officer spotted the other vehicle;however, the subjects had fled across the river into Mexico. Responding policewitnessed what appeared to be a Mexican military unit directly across the river

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source]

01(UIIFOUO) In May 2005, anFBIsource reportedJ

from theirposition. II "'----------

(V//FOUO) Thespecific motives behind these incidents remain unknown and intelligencereporting regarding Los Zetas efforts to target VS law enforcement is contradictory. AnFBI source with undetermined reliabili recent! rela ed information

L.....--- I

I(UIIFOVO) While Los Zetas may not be directly targeting US law enforcement, thegroup is well-armed, highly-trained, andaccustomed to violent altercations withMexicanlaw enforcement authorities. Thus, LosZetas members potentially pose a serious dangerif confronted by VS officials.

(U) Public Image

(UlIFOVO) Consciously or not, Los Zetas has developed a rogue public image thathasattracted significant mediaattention. Thegroup'sparamilitary training, all-black SWATlike uniforms, black SUVs, and brazen cross-border criminal activity have spawned afrightening vision thathas emerged in boththe US andMexican media.

• (VI/FODO) In 2004, a popular song celebrating Zeta lawlessness aired onMexican radio before Mexican officials removed it from play lists. Lyricsdescribed Zetas feeding kidnapping victims to lions. As outlandish as this mayseem, multiple independent FBI sources with accurate reporting histories alsodiscussed caged lions owned by Los Zetas.

• (U) In April 2005, Time Magazine described Los Zetas as a "new and ruthlessdrug gang" whose leaders have "perpetrated crimes that range from the brutal tothebizarre."?

• (V) On 28 'June 2005, news sources as divergent as Fox News Network andNational Public Radio ranstories about LosZetas activity in Nuevo Laredo.

• (UI/FOUO) In late June 2005, a group of 10-15 well-armed assailants dressed inblack, military-style uniforms fired upon two US Border Patrol agents near

4 Padgett, Tim, "TheKillers NextDoor." Time, (18 April 2005): 140.

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Nogales, Arizona. Both agents sustained non-fatal gunshot wounds. A Tucson,Arizona, television news program subsequently discussed the possibility that LosZetaswas involved. TheFBIhasno information linking Los Zetasto the incidentand this area is far removed from GulfCartel territory. Regardless, this indicatesthe significant degree of media attention raised by Los Zeta activities along theUS/Mexico border.

(U) Intelligence Gaps

(U) This intelligence assessment was re ared b the Criminal Investigative Division in conjunctionwith the San AntonioL---::,:,,"",,:,~~,r- ...l...coDllluml~nd queries ma~ddressed to

INational Gang Intellirnce Unit Chief or San AntoniL.J analystD

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(U) Los Zetas: AnEmerging Threat tothe United States · Los Zetas, they quickly developed into well-trained, brutal cartel enforcers. Since that timeLos Zetas has grown into a sizeable,