Headquarters:
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico[1][2]
Leader:
Heriberto LAZCANO Lazcano aka El Verdugo, aka El Lazca, aka Licenciado" [6][7]
Immediate Subordinates:
Miguel Angel TREVINO Morales aka Z-40, aka 40, aka Zeta 40, aka David ESTRADA Corado, aka Comandante Forty, aka El Catorce[8][9][10]
National Hierarchy:
The following original members have been killed:
Arturo GUZMAN Decena, Z-1[26]
Gustavo GONZALEZ Castro aka El Erotico[26]
Luis Alberto GUERRERO Rees aka El Guerrero[26]
Efrain Teodoro TORRES aka El Efra, aka La Chispa, aka Z-14[26]
Braulio ARELLANO Dominguez aka El Gonzo, Z-20 (killed November 2009)[50]
Oscar GUERRERO Silva aka El Winnie Pooh[26]
Alberto TREJO Benavides aka El Alvin[26]
Ernesto ZATARIN Beliz aka El Traca[26]
Victor Nazario CASTREJON Pena[26]
Original Members: 
Key operatives:
Outside Support:Some have suggested that the cartels, and especially Los Zetas, act like Robin Hood, providing financial and other means of support to the communities they are in. The conflicts, propurtedly, occur when a community does not fully support the members or are seen supporting conflicting organizations. Narco-messages from cartels are often asking for community support in order to eradicate another conflicting cartel.[138]
Rival cartels battle each other with weapons and public relations. The use of media, banners, pamphlets and other forms of advertising is commonplace in areas with conflicting cartels. The public historically allowed the cartels to operate as long as they followed a few set rules. In recent years those rules have been broken and some suggest that the cartels desire a return to the "simpler" times when those rules were followed. The public relations of cartels is an attempt to persuade the public not to report incidences involving their respective group but to place a high level of pressure on the other cartels.[139]
Internal Control Mechanisms:Important to the success of the group is its ability to control its members. Making examples of those who disobey orders or are accused of crimes against the group is one method of doing so. A Quintana Roo boss, Victor Eammanuel DELGADO Medrano aka El Chumil, who was recently captured (March 2011), and three other Los Zetas members from the area; Luis Enrique PAZ Sosa aka El Max, Jose Salvador REYNAGA Zuniga aka El Gordo and Ramces ARREOLA Sanchez aka El Ramces, were charged with killing and dismembering "La Loba." La Loba was a member of Los Zetas who was accused of keeping money he was supposed to divide up with other members of the group.[93]
Martin Omar ESTRADA Luna aka El Kilo, was arrested in April 2011 as the cell leader of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, location of the Tamaulipas Bloodshed. It has been reported that Estrada may have been turned in by his superiors, mainly Alejandro TREVINO Morales and Miguel TREVINO Morales for his role in the massacres. Allegedly, Estrada had been told to keep the body counts low and he failed to do. Instead of risking further alienation with the people who generally put up with the narco-violence, the TREVINO brothers turned him in to authorities.[140]
Los Zetas utilized an advanced business model to maintain control of their operations and use computers and technology to track drug and other contraband shipments, as well as to document local leaders and those in charge of the shipments. Detailed information regarding monies and bribes paid out and to whom, and payments received are all documented and kept on laptops to maintain the system even if one individual is taken down.[101]
Intimidation:Los Zetas use intimidation to force public officials and citizens to do as they demand. The use of narco messages and banners, as well as simple insignias, usually the letter "Z", is used to remind people what they are capable of. One recent example is from Oaxaca where at a local tourist attraction a human head was found with a narco message signed by Los Zetas.[141]
Corruption:Former Cancun Mayor, Gregorio Greg SANCHEZ Martinez, was detained by federal police in 2010 on suspicions of money laundering and helping to protect both the Beltran Leyva and Los Zetas cartels. Sanchez was also accused of participating in the execution of former General Mauro Enrique TELLO Quinones, who was killed one week after taking his new position as the head of a police task force aimed at ending drug-related violence and crime in Cancun. [71][72]
Eleven municiple police officers from Mina found guilty of working as informants for organized crime, bribery, crimes committed against official institutions, and public services in the Third Penal Court of San Nicholas. Additionally, 11 municiple officers from Municipality of Hidalgo were guilty of the same crimes. All 22 received $3000 and $6000 MXN/month from Los Zetas to keep tabs on the location federal forces in muncipalities. [73]
Mexican Army Major Arturo GONZALEZ Rodriguez is suspected of leaking military intelligence, training cartel hit men through a private security company and supplying military weapons to cartels including Los Zetas. Gonzalez is alleged to have been on the cartel pay roll since 2005.[74]
Yesenia Elizabeth BOCONEGRA Garza, a police officer in Guadalupe, was arrested with Juan "El Sonrics" Carlos Olvera Acosta, the leader of Los Zetas in Nuevo Leon, in February 2011. Corruption exists at the lower levels of law enforcement
as well as on the higher levels.[75]
Accountants:Also, it has been reported that each plaza also, ideally, has its own accountant. The accountant is tasked with controlling all of the funding for their plaza and making sure all the members are paid as well as bribes paid and that payments are collected from merchants and others being extorted. The main accountant for the entire organization has been reported as Comandante Sol, who reports directly to El Lazca.[21]
When Carlos Adrian MARTINEZ Muniz, number 2 leader of a Los Zetas cell in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, was arrested in October 2009, in addition to drugs and weapons he had deposit / payment slips for 7,150 different people.[90] The number of payment slips may indicate how large the network of members and associates actually could be and the extent to which corruption may go.
Membership:Membership is made up of different operational levels.[84][85] According to one report, Zetas members are sent to new areas in order to recruit "common" criminals into Los Zetas and they are then trained for a specific task/role, new members can advance to other positions. The tactic of recruiting criminals and military/police is reportedly used by many Mexican cartels now but was pioneered by Los Zetas.[20] It is also reported that new recruits can be "promoted" all the way to the position of hit man, or operativo, in one month, a process that historically took as long as numerous years. This may be a result of rapid turn-over in personnel due to arrests and deaths, as well as an increasing presence in more locations requiring more members.[20] A Recent report suggested that Los Zetas had around 17,000 members, second most behind only the Sinaloa Cartel.[86]The call sign of "Z" or "Zeta" is generally reserved for original or "near-original" members who were in the military where the call signal was used to designate rank. "L" is used for other members of note who cannot be designated with the "Z" call signal.[21]There is also evidence that members are transferred from plaza to plaza when particular areas become too "hot" for them. This suggests an extensive intelligence sector in which Los Zetas are retrieving information about which members are under the scope of the authorities.[84][85] It has been suggested that rival cartels will intentionally "heat up" an area in order to force a member of the opposition to transfer to a new location.
Zetas ViejosPlaza leader, control operations of entire plaza from assaults, to drug trafficking, to bribery and intelligence gathering. Most Viejos were original members or have been in Los Zetas since shortly after the group's formation. Only those with military experience may be Zetas Viejos, cell and plaza leaders are, however, increasingly made up of non-military and/or non-original members due to the expansion of the group and the capture/death of many original members.[87] Members of this level refer to themselves as Licenciados (Lawyers/attorneys), Maestros (Teachers/masters) or Ingenieros (Engineers).[21]
Operativos (Operatives)Operatives pick up and kill targets, carry out missions
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Zetas Nuevos"Shock Troops"[87] are operativos who carry out particularly gruesome and and bloody assaults. Zetas Nuevos are made up of those with military or police backgrounds almost exclusively.[87] Including Kaibiles from Guatemala.[21]
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Cobras ViejosExperienced Cobras in charge of coordinating trafficking and security matters
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CobrasProvide security for drug shipments and higher level members and leaders, often designated with the call signal "L," which stands for Levantones.[21]
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Halcones (Falcons)Monitor military and police activity, informants who most often have no criminal record
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Las Panteras (Panthers)A group of mostly women they perform several functions including; obtain safe houses, purchase provisions and clean/care for wounded. Their main role is to infiltrate authority figures and their organizations, contact police officers, military personnel, mayors and politicians, and civilians, who are targeted to assist Los Zetas. If the target refuses, the women are trained killers and do not hold back their skills. This group was first noted in 2006 and was formed by El Lazca. Men in this group function mostly as body guards and hostage controllers.[88] Panteras are known to use costumes and to change their appearance depending on their current mission.[88] One Pantera recently captured was Gloria ROJAS Valencia, captured in Venezuela and turned over to U.S. officials, was known to have ties with and worked with Colombian drug cartel member Luis Frank TELLO Candelo, also recently turned over to U.S. officials.[89] Ashly "La Comandante Bombon" NARRO Lopez and Yaneth DEYANIRA Cruz were known Panteras leaders who have been captured already.[88]
Other:Los Zetas have been accused of using threats against PEMEX and its employees to retrieve payments for "protection" of its drilling sites and employees. Los Zetas have also been accused of stealing $1 billion worth of petroleum.[101][107] As of December 2010, it was reported that Los Zetas were smuggling approximately $1,500,000 (USD) per month from PEMEX into Guatemala.[108]
A recent conflict between Los Zetas and the Mexican Navy highlights the operational capabilities and influences of Los Zetas. In Veracruz, the large port-city, it has been reported by eyewitnesses that on March 27th, 2011, in the early hours of the morning gunfire erupted between Los Zetas and Mexican Military personnel. According to reports, the Mexican Military attempted to stop a vehicle convoy supposedly transporting Los Zetas members and particularly a highly armored Hummer, the type normally reserved for the high ranking bosses of the group. The group was supposedly headed for a local bar providing liquor and table dances known as "Noctambulos," that is known to be frequented by high level cartel members and their "protection". The convoy attempted to lose the military tail which involved the use of military-style weapons, possibly a .50 caliber fully automatic, and evasive driving techniques. The Hummer escaped, however another cartel vehicle was trapped and opened fire on the military. The ensuing stand off resulted in a several casualties, including military, cartel and civilian. At a nearby concert the gunfire was heard and caused a panic resulting in further injuries as people stampeeded to leave the area. Review and compilation of multiple reports suggest atleast five total casualties resulted from the ninety minute plus altercation; official reports released by government officials claimed three casualties, one each of a civilian, cartel member and soldier, and failed to detail the chase that traveled through city blocks, the vehicles that escaped, including the armored Hummer, or the reason for the confrontation. The limited reporting has earned the government more distrust from the public, particularly those who witnessed portions of the incident and noticed large pieces of information missing. The full details of this account are available here, and is a compilation of numerous Spanish sources, including print and television sources, that have been verified[109]. This account details the ability of Los Zetas to not only encounter and succesfully flee the authorities, but also of their ability to control, directly and indirectly, the amount of official reporting regarding their activities.
In April 2011, Los Zetas attacked members of the Mexican Army on the Riberana highway in Reynosa, Tamualipas. Miguel Aleman and Ciudad Mier also had shootouts related to the initial attack.[110]
