Zetas Treviño Brothers Rule from Mexican Prisons: US Prosecutors

Authorities in the United States have accused feared Treviño Morales brothers of continuing to control the remnants of the Zetas despite a decade behind bars in Mexico, raising questions about why the notorious criminal leaders have yet to be extradited.

U.S. federal prosecutors announced a superseding indictment against the former prosecutor Zetas leaders Miguel Treviño Morales, alias “Z40”, and his brother Omar, alias “Z42” earlier this month. The two are accused of being involved in an ongoing criminal enterprise after their arrest. Prosecutors say they have appointed family members to continue running the organization Northeast Cartel, the dominant splinter faction of the Zetas, which traffics cocaine and marijuana and also launders money.

The brothers “ran a transnational drug trafficking organization responsible for committing extreme violence and smuggling vast quantities of narcotics into the United States.” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Treviño Morales brothers took control of the Zetas in the mid-2000s, after many years working as trusted enforcers for the group. The Zetas started out as a paramilitary wing of the Gulf Cartel before breaking off to become perhaps the most ruthless criminal organization Mexico had ever known. They were later indicted in the District of Columbia in 2008 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

SEE ALSO:Mexico’s Zetas: From Criminal Powerhouse to Fragmented Remnants

More than any other group, the Zetas became known for their shocking acts of violence. This included heinous acts such as dumping 49 bodies without heads on a highway near the northern city of Monterrey, as do the cold-blooded ones Massacre of 2010 of 72 migrants in San Fernando, followed by the massacre of another 193 people the following year in the same city.

After years of violent criminal activity to increase their control over Nuevo Laredo, one of the main border crossings between the US and Mexico in the state of Tamaulipas, the Mexican Marines have Miguel arrested in July 2013. Two years later his brother Omar was captured in the state of Nuevo León.

The power and strength of the Zetas declined rapidly after those arrests. With the rise of more formidable groups such as the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG), the group split into several rival factions, such as the Northeast Cartel, Old School Zetas and Taliban.

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Despite a 2011 U.S. extradition request and nearly a decade behind bars in Mexico, it is no surprise that the Treviño Morales family has continued to control the Northeast Cartel and use its influence in Mexico to avoid extradition to the United States.

“Mexican prisons allow (the brothers) to continue sending orders, settling disputes and condoning murders. Their counter-offensive against extradition goes beyond a legal battle – they have also campaigned in the media, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the extradition,” said Alberto Islas, a security analyst and founder of Global Leading Solutions, a consultancy.

Lawyers for the brothers have criticized the Mexican government for failing to link them to the Zetas’ criminal activities. And in a recent letter to Mexico’s newly installed president Claudia Sheinbaum, Miguel went so far as to claim that he is not, in fact, a Z40 and is being confused with someone else. Sending him to the United States would be “a historic mistake and a betrayal of sovereignty.” he argued in the letter.

But U.S. prosecutors maintain that after the deaths of the Zetas’ founders, the group has largely become a hyperlocal family business controlled by the Treviño Morales brothers and their relatives. These family ties, coupled with the deep-rooted corruption within Mexico’s criminal justice system, suggest that extradition from the US may be the only way to finally break the brothers’ criminal power.

From the very beginning, Miguel and Omar relied on their brother José in the United States to funnel millions of dollars in drug money laundered by purchasing racehorses. José was eventually arrested in the United States, convicted, and condemned to twenty years in prison for leading what was then a large part of the Zetas’ money laundering structure.

Relatives of the Treviño Morales brothers continued to play important roles in the group even after it began to fall apart following their arrests. Juan Francisco Treviño Chávez, alias “El Kiko,” and Omar and Miguel’s cousin, initially took control of the Northeast Cartel, which emerged as the most prominent Zetas splinter faction.

SEE ALSO:The Northeastern Cartel and Criminal Hegemony in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

After his 2016 arrest and extradition to the United States, another family member, Juan Gerardo Treviño Chávez, alias ‘El Huevo’, took control of the group. He held the leadership position and also founded a network of assassins that became known as the ‘Tropa del Infierno’, or Hell Troop.

The Mexican Army El Huevo conquered in spectacular fashion in March 2022. The arrest kicked off an hours-long gun battle that left burned-out vehicles in Nuevo Laredo, paralyzing the city of about 400,000 residents. He was extradited shortly afterwards and will stand trial in the United States in November.

While the current leadership structure of the Northeast Cartel is unclear, the latest indictments suggest that the Treviño Morales brothers will continue to influence the group while they remain in prison in Mexico. When InSight Crime visited Nuevo Laredo last year, graffiti referencing the Northeast Cartel was everywhere in the city, leaving no doubt who was in charge.

Featured image: Armored trucks spray-painted with CDN, referring to the Northeast Cartel, sit at an impound lot in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. Credit: Parker Asmann