Following up on the three Matando Zetas videos posted earlier.
Richard Grabman at The Mex Files commented that it was more likely the two interrogation videos were made in Quintana Roo where three of the alleged Zetas in the video were found dead, rather than Veracruz, as indicated by the narcomensajes left with two other bodies found in that city earlier this week. After learning today that the videos were released by the Mata Zetas directly to Mario Renato Menéndez, publisher of Por Esto! in Yucatan, I think Richard is likely correct. However, something calling itself Mata Zetas is definitely operating in Veracruz. I don’t believe they are simply spontaneous copycats. I will have more on the Zetas/Cuban-American connections soon.
Meantime, here are some excerpts roughly translated from the Spanish of the Mata Zetas video of its written statement.
Much of it reads like the initial populist propaganda sent out by La Familia Michoacana claiming to be a “law-and-order” group out to battle the narcos–before La Familia started dealing in meth and murder. Note the high praise the Mata Zetas pour over Felipe Calderon and his PANista mano dura policies just days before the midterm elections. Also note how this group differentiates between “old school” drug traffickers and the ultraviolent multi-crime business model they attribute to Los Zetas.
“…We are against kidnapping, extortion, the murder of women and children, as well as theft and the assassinations of soldiers and Mexican journalists. We know before hand that this will lead to criticism and disagreements, and that will be misinterpreted for political purposes, but this is not true, this is not a question of harm or benefit to any political party, this is the reality experienced by many Mexicans in different states of the republic where there are Zetas.
“It’s time for all conscientious Mexicans to do that instead of criticizing the Mexican army and federal forces, which give their lives to safeguarding the peace across the country, as this current government is doing by addressing complaints and irregularities committed by some police and government officials….I personally want to express to the president Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, my adminration of the courage and commitment he has given to fighting crime…we are a group that has taken up arms against the Zetas…we have children, siblings and parents of ranchers and businessmen who struggled day to day to live honestly and who were deprived of their lives by refusing to pay the fees imposed by the famous Zetas…“We know that drug trafficking has existed for many decades, where many leaders have been known to all, these gentlemen were engaged in drug trafficking as investors, who made their profits not from ransoms, not killing families, much less raping women, we must be realistic, we know that drug trafficking is not going to end, but this group of kidnappers cannot be called drug traffickers.
“We know there is going t be criticism of us , but those who have experienced at first hand the abuses of the Zetas, will understand and will give us support, ..(we) will not kill innocent people and if we kill someone who works in a police unit, we will not be killing a cop, but a traitor to the fatherland who helps protect the Zetas…“It is not fair that a merchant has to sacrifice his grocery store to pay a fee, or a merchant who is honestly working to support his family at his vegetable stand and madruga have to pay a fee to people who threaten to kill his children if they do not pay…Here are two videos of commanders of the Zetas confessing how they work and where their supporters are, one from Cancun and the other from the port of Veracruz.
“Thank you for your attention. Within days we will send you photos and addresses of their hiding places and the facts of their relationships with police and government officials from Veracruz, Cancun, Chiapas and Tabasco who give them protection.”
1 Comment
July 20, 2009 at 6:25 am
[...] It’s interesting that the Lynx ex-GAFE were recruited out of Veracruz, where the Mata Zetas splashed up earlier this month. See here. [...]