El diario The
New York Times asegura que autoridades de EU - DEA, principalmente-, desempeñaron un papel
clave para la captura del líder del cártel de "Los Zetas", Miguel
Ángel Treviño Morales, alias "El Z-40".
"Autoridades
estadounidenses jugaron un 'rol clave tras bambalinas' en su aprehensión y,
después de su arresto, confirmando su identidad a través de pruebas biométricas
y de ADN, según oficiales en ambos lados de la frontera, que no están
autorizados para hablar públicamente sobre el tema", dice el rotativo neoyorquino.
Un elemento policiaco
estadounidense menciona a la publicación que los gobiernos de EU y México
comenzaron a compartir información sobre este líder zeta desde hace algunos
meses; y que uno de los datos proporcionados por los estadounidenses fue que se
había dado el nacimiento de un hijo de Treviño Morales hace menos de un mes.
"Los
americanos también compartieron información de que estaba haciendo viajes para
visitar al bebé en el área de Nuevo Laredo, cerca del lugar donde fue capturado",
agrega el texto.
Además, indica
que las autoridades intercambiaron inteligencia recogida de intervenciones
telefónicas y de pistas aportadas por informantes, todo lo que, en conjunto, le
permitió a la Secretaría de la Marina Armada de México localizar la camioneta
en un camino cercano a la frontera, donde en la madrugada del lunes se realizó
la detención de Treviño Morales.
Empero, el gobierno de México no ha
reconocido ningún papel desempeñado por autoridades estadounidenses en esta
detención. Incluso, cuando
se hizo el anuncio oficial sobre la detención de "El Z-40", un
periodista le preguntó a Eduardo Sánchez Hernández sobre el papel que jugó el
gobierno de Estados Unidos en la detención, pero el subsecretario de
Normatividad y Medios de la Secretaría de Gobernación dijo no contar con
información al respecto.
Art Fontes, un exagente
del FBI que pasó años siguiéndole la pista a este líder de "Los
Zetas", dice al diario neoyorquino que si se logró capturar al capo sin
protección y sin disparar ni un solo tiro, es porque traía dos millones de
dólares en el vehículo. “Pensó que podía comprar su escape”, dice.
El rotativo de
Nueva York estima que, con esta detención, México puede estar en un momento
decisivo de su “larga y sangrienta guerra contra las drogas”, y que puede
cerrar un capítulo de brutalidad.
El abatimiento
de Heriberto Lazcano –el anterior líder zeta– en octubre pasado, la detención
de "El Z-40" así como la de otros líderes, han sacudido a este grupo
criminal, señala.
"Puede
ser el comienzo del final de este grupo como un gran cártel y, posiblemente, de
la violencia a gran escala que lleva a cabo con tal bravuconería", estima
la publicación.
**
La nota
Capture of
Mexican Crime Boss Appears to End a Brutal Chapter
Rodrigo Abd/Associated
Press
By RANDAL C.
ARCHIBOLD and GINGER THOMPSON
NYT, Published:
July 16, 2013
MEXICO CITY —
Body parts strewn on highways, etched with the letter Z. Videotaped torture
sessions uploaded onto YouTube. Victims placed in barrels and dissolved into a
“stew” of violent death.
Related
Since the
Zetas emerged less than a decade ago as the brutal new figures in the storied
history of organized crime here, Mexico has experienced some of its most
shocking episodes of violence, and the bloodshed has seeped into other
countries throughout the region.
Founded by
heavily armed former soldiers trained for war, the Zetas did not pioneer
sensational acts of violence in Mexico, but they perfected the practice of
carnage as message, as they expanded beyond drug trafficking into extortion,
migrant smuggling, kidnapping and other crimes.
With the
arrest on Monday of Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, the Zeta crime boss so
greatly feared that many would not dare utter his name in public, Mexico’s long
and bloody drug war may have reached a crossroads. Nobody believes that drug
trafficking will let up now that the Zetas have been weakened. And an array of
ruthless gunmen in and out of the Zetas have no qualms about continuing to
kill.
But Mr.
Treviño’s arrest, the killing of the previous Zeta commander in October and the
recent capture of several other lieutenants have rocked the trafficking
organizations that did the most to damage Mexico’s image and instill the most
fear among the people.
Mr. Treviño,
who was better known as Z-40, after his radio call sign given by the
militaristic group, was captured before dawn on Monday, with $2 million in his
pickup truck, after spending time with his newborn child in a rural area near
the Texas border. American authorities played a key behind-the-scenes role in
his apprehension and, after his arrest, confirmed his identity through
biometric and DNA tests, according to officials on both sides of the border,
who were not authorized to speak publicly on the case.
The relatively
quiet denouement of Mr. Treviño’s career belies the mayhem that made his
organization stand out. In some ways, analysts said, the Zetas became a victim
of perverse success.
The
organization grew so fast, drew in so much money and hired so many gunmen quick
to pull the trigger that it lost the loyalty that other Mexican crime
syndicates engendered toward their leaders, while older, more established
cartels sought to take down the Young Turks making business tough for
everybody.
“They broke
the rules of the game,” said George W. Grayson, a professor at the College of
William and Mary and author of “The Executioner’s Men,” a history of the Zetas.
“They wanted to brand themselves, and the brand they chose was the meanest,
leanest, most sadistic organization in the Americas. Just mentioning Zetas
sparks fear in the hearts of those who hear them.”
Where family
and community ties bind larger cartels, the Zetas, increasingly run by young
recruits trained in remote camps to kill in spectacular fashion, depended on a
culture of military discipline and a hierarchy that began to fracture under the
pressure exerted by Mexican and American law enforcement.
The danger
remains that the splintering of the Zetas will leave smaller, dangerous gangs
copying their name and tactics as they continue to extort, kidnap and deal
drugs. State and local police forces are generally too corrupted, ill prepared
or not committed to take them on.
But several
analysts said the arrest of Mr. Treviño, led by Mexican marines but supported
with intelligence from the United States — where he is wanted on drug and gun
charges — could be the beginning of the end of the group as a large cartel and,
possibly, the large-scale violence it carried out with such bravado.
“As a cohesive
group there is probably not much left of them,” said Alejandro Hope, a former
Mexican intelligence officer and now security consultant at a Mexico City
research group. “But there will continue to be people who call themselves
Zetas, act like Zetas and belong to gangs that use their letter.”
International
pressure will be a key factor, as arresting a capo is one thing, but taking
apart an organization with offshoots in several countries is another, said
Alberto Islas, a security expert in Mexico City.
In this case,
President Enrique Peña Nieto, who took office in December promising to reduce
the violence, had made clear that Mr. Treviño, who faces organized crime,
murder, drug trafficking and torture charges, was a prime target. But, after
years of what it saw as too much American involvement in its security agencies,
the Mexican government wanted its forces to lead the way.
A senior
American law enforcement official posted along the border, who was not
authorized to speak on the record, described a recent meeting with his
counterparts in Mexico City. “What I got from that meeting is that Mexico wants
to prove it can handle this fight on its own — or at least on its own terms,”
the official said.
Still, the
Mexicans recognized the need for American help, and the two governments began
sharing information on Mr. Treviño several months ago, with the Americans
passing along word of the birth of Mr. Treviño’s child a little more than a
month ago, the official said. The Americans also shared the information that he
appeared to be making trips to visit the baby in the Nuevo Laredo area, near
where he was captured, the official said.
The
authorities traded intelligence gleaned from conversations caught on wiretaps
and informants’ tips that led Mexican authorities to Mr. Treviño’s truck,
moving before dawn on a highway near the border, the official said. Mexican
marines in a helicopter intercepted Mr. Treviño and arrested him and two aides
without a shot. Eight guns and $2 million in cash were confiscated.
“The reason
they caught him without layers of security and without firing a shot,” said Art
Fontes, a former F.B.I. official who spent years tracking Mr. Treviño, “is
because he had $2 million in the vehicle and he thought he could buy his way
out.”
While rumors
about Mr. Treviño’s capture — including a photograph of him in custody — began
appearing on Twitter late Monday morning, American officials said they were not
formally notified about the arrest until hours later.
Mexican
officials have not acknowledged any American role in the operation. Mr. Peña
Nieto, the president, congratulated the navy on Tuesday and celebrated the
capture as efficient coordination among agencies — Mexican ones. “I send my
recognition and congratulation to the Mexican Navy and all the institutions in
charge of our nation’s public security for the efficient work they have done,”
he said at an event in central Mexico.
The Zetas took
in substantial sums by running the migrant smuggling business through Mexico
but were also known for preying upon those seeking to reach the United States.
Mr. Treviño played a role in the death or disappearance of at least 265 of
them, including 72 immigrants, mostly from Central America, who were found dead
in northeastern Mexico in 2010, Mexican authorities said after his arrest.
The Rev. Pedro
Pantoja, a Catholic priest in Saltillo, Mexico, who has been working with
migrants for 20 years, said he had just returned from Guatemala, where he saw
gang members working with the Zetas collecting thousands of dollars from people
looking to reach the United States. No matter who is in charge, he said, the
system will remain in place as poverty and criminal logistics combine, often
with violence used as a way to maintain control.
“Organized
crime still has all the power, with migrants, with kidnappings and with
violence,” he said. “It will continue.”
Damien Cave
contributed reporting from New York.
**
Drug Kingpin
Is Captured in Mexico Near Border
By RANDAL C.
ARCHIBOLD
Published:
July 15, 2013
MEXICO CITY —
The leader of one of Mexico’s most violent and feared drug organizations, the
Zetas, was captured Monday in a city near the Texas border, an emphatic retort
from the new government to questions over whether it would go after top
organized crime leaders.
The man,
Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, 40, who goes by the nickname Z-40 and is one of
the most wanted people on both sides of the border, was detained by Mexican
marines Monday morning, Mexican officials said at a news conference Monday
night.
He was
detained about 3:45 a.m., without a shot being fired, as he traveled in a
pickup truck near Nuevo Laredo, opposite Laredo, Texas, with two other men who
were also detained, the officials said, adding that the marines seized $2
million in cash and weapons.
Mr. Treviño
was ranked among the most ruthless crime bosses, wanted for murder, organized
crime, and torture; he has been linked to the killing and disappearance of 265
migrants in northeastern Mexico, including 72 found dead in August 2010.
He also faces
drug and gun charges in the United States, which has offered a $5 million
reward for information leading to his capture.
Eduardo
Sánchez, the spokesman on security matters for the Mexican government, declined
to say what role the United States played in the capture, though American law
enforcement tips have often been behind high-profile arrests.
An American
law enforcement official declined to provide details, deferring to the Mexican
government announcement of the arrest, which was first reported by The Dallas
Morning News on its Web site.
The Zetas
operate primarily in Mexico, but their drug trafficking and organized crime
violence have spread to other countries, and they have been known to recruit
members in Texas and even to launder money through the quarter-horse industry
in the United States.
Started by
former soldiers and once the enforcement arm of another large cartel, the gang
is known in Mexico for its brutality, and its members’ calling card is often
beheaded victims, body parts on highways and bodies hanged from bridges.
Mr. Treviño is
the highest-ranking and most-sought-after drug capo arrested by the government
of President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico, whose aides had questioned the
so-called kingpin strategy of his predecessor, which had emphasized
high-profile arrests. The leadership voids, battles for turf and confrontations
with Mexican forces all sent violence soaring in the past several years, with
tens of thousands dead or missing.
The new
government had scoffed at the deep level of involvement of American law
enforcement and security agencies in Mexico and placed new limits on their
access, causing some American officials and analysts to wonder whether it would
be deeply committed to confronting the drug gangs. Michele M. Leonhart, the
head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, visited Mexico on Friday, and the
leaders of Mexico’s army and navy are visiting Washington to forge closer ties.
The arrest
will probably give doubters some hope, experts said.
“The success
of the effort is likely to help build trust after a period of rocky relations
on public security issues,” said Andrew Selee, a Mexico scholar at the Woodrow
Wilson Center in Washington.
Some analysts
said the arrest could lead to further fragmentation of the gangs, which would
reduce their ability to threaten state authority but might uncork further waves
of violence.
“This takedown
will boost Peña Nieto several points in the polls, even as he has spurned
talking about violence and the narco war,” said George W. Grayson, a professor
at the College of William and Mary who has written extensively on the drug
gangs. “They fragment into ‘cartelitos,’ which, while dangerous, do not pose a
threat to state security.”
Mr. Treviño
had been the second in command until the Zetas leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano
was killed in a battle with Mexican marines in October.
His body was
carted off by armed men from a funeral home shortly afterward in an episode
that turned triumph into embarrassment for Mexico’s president at the time,
Felipe Calderón, whose tenure was marked by the killing or arrest of several
cartel leaders except the most elusive: Joaquín Guzmán, known as El Chapo, the
leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, considered the largest and most powerful supplier
of cocaine to the United States.
At his peak,
Mr. Treviño was widely feared and credited with helping to give the Zetas gang
its reputation while transforming it from a hit squad to a mushrooming
transnational criminal organization.
“He had all of
Mexico and a lot of Central America under his tentacles,” said Art Fontes, a
recently retired F.B.I. agent who was assigned to Mexico until late last year
and is now a security consultant. “He was feared everywhere he went.”
In one of the
organization’s bolder moves across the border, Mr. Treviño used a brother in
the United States to launder tens of millions of dollars in drug proceeds by
buying and selling expensive American quarter horses. José Treviño, the
kingpin’s older brother, was convicted this year of running the business, whose
operations were first reported by The New York Times.
But a number
of drug war analysts have said that Mr. Guzmán’s cartel, an older, more
established organization less prone to shocking violence, was beginning to
overtake the Zetas, the younger, less disciplined outfit that branched out more
into extortion, kidnapping and migrant smuggling.
Mexican law
enforcement has arrested some of the Zetas’ most important leaders, including
several of them just before Mr. Calderón’s term ended in December.
Insight Crime,
a news and analysis Web site that closely tracks drug crime in the Americas,
has reported that a Zetas splinter group called Los Legionarios emerged last
year “with the express purpose of waging war against Z-40 and his
organization.”
Ginger
Thompson contributed reporting from New York.
A version of
this article appeared in print on July 16, 2013, on page A6 of the New York
edition with the headline: Leader of Brutal Drug Gang Is Captured in Mexico.
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