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July 16th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
Murder of American officials
Two American immigration officials, driving along a main road from Mexico
City to Monterrey in February 2011, were attacked by the gang. Special Agent
Jaime Zapata, 32, died and a second agent, Victor Avila, was wounded as they
stopped at a roadblock on a four-lane highway. The attack was the most high
profile attack on American officials since the 1985 torture and murder of
Enrique Camarena, a US drugs official.
Thick smoke billows from the Casino Royale as firefighters attack the
fire, in Monterrey, Mexico on August 25, 2011 (AFP/Getty Images)
Casino attack
Casino Royale, in the affluent city of Monterrey, had been attacked on
several occasions as a result of its owners refusing to pay extortion money.
In August 2011 members of the Zetas stormed the casino in mid-afternoon,
doused the building with petrol, and set it alight. Fifty two people died in
the blaze.
Hanging bodies
In Miguel Treviño Morales’ hometown of Nuevo Laredo, police in May 2012 found
23 bodies hanging from a bridge or decapitated by the City Hall.
Highway murder
Less than ten days after the bodies were left hanging from a bridge, security
forces in Nuevo Laredo found 49 bodies dumped in the middle of a main road.
Identification was hampered by the fact that the victims had their heads,
hands and feet chopped off.
Body snatching Heriberto Lazcano, leader of the Zetas, was killed in a
shoot out with Mexican soldiers in October 2012. However, in a surreal
twist, his corpse was snatched from the morgue by his men hours after his
death. The military were reportedly unaware of the “value” of the
dead man until the funeral home was stormed by armed men, who carried off “The
Executioner” in his body bag.
(Rex Features) The Zetas were also blamed for dumping 35 bodies in the
heart of the tourist zone in the port city of Veracruz in September 2011.
Horse racing
Miguel Treviño Morales is a horse racing fanatic – so he concocted a scheme
to launder $16 million (£10.5m) of drug money in just over two years through
racing stables run by his brother, José. The brothers bought over 400
quarter horses, set up a breeding and training stables in Oklahoma, and
within three years won some of the industry’s biggest prizes. The horses
were given tantalising names – such as Number One Cartel, The Hitman, Mr
Ease Cartel and Mr Piloto.
In 2010 the stables paid more than $1m for two broodmares, which caught the
eye of the authorities. The ranch was raided in July 2012, and Jose was
arrested alongside his wife and staff.
Miguel was described during the May 2013 trial of his brother as an active
participant in the scheme, who kept a listing of the horses’ prices and
names on his mobile phone. A court in Texas convicted José, 46, of buying
racehorses to hide illegal drugs profits, and he is facing 20 years in
prison.
Feud with Anonymous
In November 2011 the Zetas kidnapped a member of hacking collective
Anonymous. The hackers vowed to publish the details of all known members of
the Zetas unless their colleague was released; the Zetas freed the man
several days later.
A new branch of Anonymous has since been formed in the town of Acuña, Coahuila
state, which is publishing online the photos of homes and businesses they
say belong to the Zetas, in an attempt to drive the cartel from their town.
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