Miguel Treviño Morales
Miguel Treviño Morales | |
|---|---|
| File:Miguel-Trevino-Morales.jpg | |
| Born | |
| Other names | Z-40 |
| Occupation(s) | Illegal drug trafficker, gunman. |
| Employer | Los Zetas |
| Partner | Heriberto Lazcano Joaquín Guzmán Ismael Zambada Garcia Ignacio Coronel-Villareal |
Miguel Treviño Morales (a.k.a: Z-40) is the commander of the criminal paramilitary gang known as Los Zetas, currently lead by Heriberto Lazcano.
Miguel Treviño is a former member of the Mexican Army’s elite Airborne Special Forces Group (GAFE), trained in locating and apprehending drug cartel members. It is believed that he was also trained at the military School of the Americas in the United States.[1][2] Also, he was trained by foreign specialists, including Americans, French, and Israelis in rapid deployment, aerial assaults, marksmanship, ambushes, small-group tactics, intelligence collection, counter-surveillance techniques, prisoner rescues and sophisticated communications.
In the late 1990s, the Gulf Cartel, a Mexican criminal organization, recruited him and other 30 GAFE members to provide protection and perform other vital functions, thus becoming Los Zetas, the paramilitary wing of the Gulf Cartel, responsible for the smuggling of multi-ton quantities of cocaine, marihuana and heroine into the United States from Mexico anually.[3][4][5][6]
In 2008, Miguel Treviño and Heriberto Lazcano forged an alliance with the Beltrán Leyva brothers to form the most powerful and brutal cartel in Mexico today.[7][8] Government sources said the new organization, along with Beltran Leyva's, are fighting for control against 'La Federacion' (The Federation), an alliance of drug trafficking organizations led by Joaquin "el Chapo" Guzman and by Ismael Zambada García, former allies of Beltran Leyva.[9]
Miguel Treviño also acts as a cartel 'gate-keeper' and exacts a fee on all contraband flowing through a given area, nicknamed a "plaza." He bribes and intimidates officials to help maintain control, and puts down challenges violently.[10] Treviño invokes such fear, very few journalists dare to write about him. Strangely, he is well known to Mexican law enforcement officials, yet he never appeared on the "most wanted" lists of Mexico's federal or Tamaulipas state's attorney general's offices.
With Treviño’s help, the Zetas have taken on sideline operations that go beyond narcotics trafficking: human smuggling, extortion, and gunrunning. In november 2007, the city of Laredo, Texas issued an arrest warrant for Treviño in connection with a 2006 double homicide in Texas,[11] and the U.S. Department of Justice also released an indictment against Treviño for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine into the United States.[12][13]
References
- ^ Thompson, Ginger (September 30, 2005). "Mexico Fears Its Drug Traffickers Get Help From Guatemalans". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ Laurie Freeman, State of Siege: Drug-Related Violence and Corruption in Mexico, Washington Office on Latin America, June 2006
- ^ Oscar Becerra, "New Traffickers Struggle for Control of Mexican Drug Trade," Jane's Intelligence Review, September 1, 2004.
- ^ Bunker, Robert (2005). Networks, Terrorism and Global Insurgency. Routledge. pp. xv. ISBN 0-41534819-6.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Weak bilateral law enforcement presence at the U.S.Mexico border. Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. 2005.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Texas Monthly On: Texas True Crime. 2007. p. 44. ISBN 0-29271675-3.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|Publisher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ "Mega Cartel created in Mexico; Los Zetas becomes a new Cartel". Borderrfire Report. May 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Casey McCarty, Samuel Logan (January 29, 2008). "Violence on the US-Mexico Border". Sam Logan. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Split between drug gangs unleashes wave of violence in Mexico". Monsters and Critics. May 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Castillo, M. (08/18/2007). "Drug lord invokes such fear, people won't even utter his name". San Antonio News. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Corchado, Alfredo (February 13, 2007). "Drug turf war advances into 'safest city in Mexico'". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "indictment against Treviño et. al" (PDF). US District Court of Columbia. November 15, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ "News from the D.E.A - Indictment Photos". The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. September 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
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