Tales of Los Zetas: The Restructuring of 1999

 "Itzli" for Borderland Beat.

A look at multiple events in the first half of 1999 in which members of Los Zetas were said to be involved as well as the restructuring that took place that year.

Rescue of El Meme

At the beginning of 1999 the Cártel del Golfo (CDG, Gulf Cartel) was under the leadership of Salvador “El Chava” Gómez Herrera, with Osiel Cárdenas Guillén as a high ranking member in charge of operations. It appears that Los Zetas were on the path to being formed, with Los 7 operating within the cartel and at least three others had been recruited into what would become known as El Grupo de 14.

On January 2, 1999 an important member of the cartel, Víctor Manuel “El Meme” Vázquez Mireles, was arrested and imprisoned in Reynosa pending trial. A plan was made by Osiel Cárdenas Guillén to free him and on January 29, as “El Meme” was being transported to a court hearing, a group of gunmen intercepted the vehicle. After being threatened by the gunmen, the police guards released “El Meme” and he was taken to a cartel safe house. 

Among the gunmen participating in the rescue of “El Meme” was Alejandro Lucio Morales Betancourt, who, as a member of Los Zetas, used the code name Z-2 and/or Z2-HK11. It does not appear than any other Zetas participated in this event, though one must keep in mind that only some of the individuals were directly listed, including “El Marcelino”, “El Oso” (known as T-17 as a member of the Tangos), “El Chino”, and unnamed others who were under the command of Jorge Eduardo “El Coss” Costilla Sánchez. Juan Carlos “El JC” de la Cruz Reyna, sometimes listed among the members of Los Zetas, is said to have participated as well.

Attack on El Rolis

During this timeframe, the La Frontera Chica region of Tamaulipas (Miguel Alemán, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Camargo, Ciudad Mier, and Guerrero) was controlled by Gilberto “El June” García Mena, whom some regard as the true founder of Los Zetas. Over the number of years that “El June” controlled the area, several notable individuals would be associated with him, including Edelio “El Yeyo” López Falcón and his cousin/right-hand man, Rolando “El Rolis” López Salinas. Their working relationship with “El June” would not last; by early 1999, “El Yeyo” had fallen out of favor.

In February 1999 Osiel Cárdenas Guillén called a meeting in Reynosa, which was a point in time when it seems that Los 7 had already formed and El Grupo de 14 likely still in the process of being recruited. At first glance this could be seen as the true formation of Los Zetas, as Alejandro Lucio Morales Betancourt, code name Z-2 would later testify: “He designated Arturo Guzmán Decena, Z1, to take us, in total we were 20 individuals, to Ciudad Miguel Alemán with the goal of kidnapping El Roli”.

However, the leadup to this quote makes it more ambiguous, as it states that “Osiel called Los Zetas to a meeting…and other people that were not part of his bodyguards”. From this, it appears that the twenty individuals involved were a mix of members of Los Zetas and others that were not part of their ranks.

Ultimately, the mission to kidnap “El Roli” was a failure: Z-2 stated “We arrived at the house located on 10th Street, where we were met with gunfire. Lazcano (Heriberto “El Lazca” Lazcano Lazcano) shot at some gas tanks causing an explosion and then we ran out of the place without achieving our objective”. 

Killing of a PJF Commander

On March 21, 1999 Jaime Rajid Gutiérrez Arreola was killed; like many early members of Los Zetas he was a member of the military that had been assigned as an agent of the PJF. Initial reports indicated that he was killed in a shootout but, following investigations by Sedena and the PGR, it was stated that “due to an argument over monetary issues arising from drug trafficking activities, the commander was killed”.

An arrest warrant was issued for the arrest of several individuals that were allegedly involved in the killing of Jaime Rajid Gutiérrez Arreola, among them Osiel Cárdenas Guillén. While he was not listed among these individuals, it would later be reported that Heriberto “El Lazca” Lazcano Lazcano was also involved, which opens up the possibility that he may have been the trigger man.

El Mata Amigos 

As discussed in El Grupo de 14, in the summer of 1998 Salvador “El Chava” Gómez Herrera and Osiel Cárdenas Guillén were arrested and placed under house arrest, from which the two escaped. As authorities sought to recapture them, it appears that they hid separately in various properties throughout Mexico thereafter. By the summer of 1999, “El Chava Gómez” was hiding out in Tuxpan, Veracruz while Osiel Cárdenas Guillén shifted among locations in Jalisco, accompanied by “El Coss”, “El Meme”, and Arturo “Z-1” Guzmán Decena.

Regarded as close friends, “El Chava Gómez” and Osiel were to become true “compadres” as  plans were being set for Osiel’s daughter, most likely Grecia Cárdenas Salinas, to be baptized with “El Chava Gómez” as her godfather. The ceremony and party that was to follow was to take place in Tuxpan and it seems that the event took place without Osiel attending, as he was secretly recovering from liposuction and cosmetic surgery.

While all this happened, plans were in motion, Osiel wanted to take control of the cartel from “El Chava Gómez”. Sometime in June, both Osiel and “El Chava Gómez” returned to Tamaulipas. On July 4, 1999 police officials announced that the decomposed body of “El Chava Gómez” had been found with a single gunshot to the head, with it being reported that the body was found near Matamoros on July 2, along with one of his associates.

Reporting from the time indicated that the wife of “El Chava Gómez” told police that she had last seen him on June 17, yet the same article also says that he had been kidnapped nine days prior, which seems to fall in line with other reporting that indicated he was kidnapped on June 24. 

Osiel was immediately blamed for the killing of “El Chava Gómez” and from this point on Osiel would often be referred to by the nickname “El Mata Amigos” which translates as “the friend killer”. It should be noted that it was reported at the time that the motive for the death of “El Chava Gómez” was that he had stolen $1 million from other cartel members, which echoes rumors that Osiel had paid the bribe to escape house arrest but “El Chava Gómez” never paid him back.

There are multiple versions of events as to the exact details of the killing of “El Chava Gómez”. In some, he was stopped by police officers and killed in a shootout, with it being implied that Osiel had set him up and “El JC” apparently monitored the situation. An alternate version would place the events in a vehicle in which Osiel was driving with “El Chava Gómez” in the passenger seat. In this version, it is said that Arturo “Z-1” Guzmán Decena, who was sitting in the back, was the one who killed “El Chava Gómez”. 

Additional Recruits

In previous articles, by using their known defection dates from the military and placing them in the larger cartel chronology, we can create theoretical lists of when individuals may have been recruited as members of Los Zetas.

It appears that Los 7, the original core members of Los Zetas, were made up of Arturo Guzmán Decena, Raúl Lucio “El Lucky” Hernández Lechuga, Heriberto “El Lazca” Lazcano Lazcano, Ernesto “El Traca” Zataraín Belíz, Jaime “El Hummer” González Durán, Alejandro Lucio Morales Betancourt, and, quite possibly, Hugo Ponce Salazar. 

Furthermore, an additional seven individuals that were added to form El Grupo de 14 appears to be Gustavo “El Erótico” González Castro, Efraín “El Chispa” Teodoro Torres, Mateo Díaz López, José Ramón “El Cholo” Dávila López, Luis Alberto “El Guerrero” Guerrero Reyes, Raul Alberto “El Alvin” Trejo Benavides, and Jesús Enrique “El Mamito” Rejón Aguilar.

Amidst multiple versions of the formation of Los Zetas, it is frequently claimed that their initial purpose was to help Osiel Cárdenas Guillén secure power as leader of the CDG and eliminate his enemies. While we see that there is an earlier origin of Los 7 and, to an extent, El Grupo de 14, it appears that the summer of 1999 best fits this description and we see five individuals that deserted the military prior to the body of “El Chava Gómez” being found: 

1. Rogelio Guerra Ramirez- Nicknamed “El Guerra”. According to government records he joined the military on August 25, 1989 and later requested to be discharged, which he was granted on April 18, 1999.

2. Miguel Angel Soto Parra- Nicknamed “El Parra”. According to government records he joined the military on May 2, 1994 and later requested to be discharged, which he was granted on May 1, 1999.

3. Galdino Mellado Cruz- Nicknamed “El Mellado”, he was born on April 18, 1973 in Tampico Alto, Veracruz. According to government records he joined the military on September 1, 1992 and later requested to be discharged, which he was granted on May 1, 1999. He would go on to adopt the code name Z-11 and/or Z11-HK45, though some sources refer to him as Z-9 instead.

4. Braulio Arellano Dominguez- Nicknamed “El Gonzo”. According to government records he joined the military on February 22, 1993. He eventually deserted and was officially discharged on June 21, 1999. He would go on to adopt the code name Z-20.

5. Nabor Vargas García- Nicknamed “El Dévora”, he was born on July 12, 1976 in Pachuca, Hidalgo. According to government records he joined the military on June 28, 1995. Later, he requested to be discharged from active service and be placed in the reserves, which was granted on July 1, 1999. He would go on to adopt the code name Z-22, though some sources refer to him as Z-20.  

Restructuring Los Zetas

It should also be noted that there are references to a “restructuring” of Los Zetas that took place in 1999. However, there is a general absence of information indicating a specific time frame in that year when this took place, as well as a lack of details as to what exactly the “restructuring” entailed, which forces us to merely speculate. 

One possibility that can be inferred is that the “restructuring” is actually a third phase in the formation of Los Zetas. In this scenario additional recruits were added to El Grupo de 14 and, quite possibly, the members first started to be known as Los Zetas. It can be argued that the summer of 1999, around the time of the killing of “El Chava Gómez”, makes logical sense for a “restructuring” to have taken place, although this is ultimately speculation and may have taken place at a later point in the year.

With that said, reporting appears to indicate that at least one individual joined Los Zetas during the “restructuring”:

1. Luis Reyes Enríquez- Nicknamed “El Rex”, he was reported to have joined the military on January 30, 1990. He was assigned to the PJF on March 1, 1998 as “Agent A”. It is unclear at what point he deserted and he apparently joined the CDG at some point in 1999. He would go on to adopt the code name Z-12 and/or Z12-HK44.

While there is a great level of uncertainty, it would seem that by the summer of 1999 there were 20 members of Los Zetas and quite possibly a few more. A particular motivating factor for placing “El Rex” within Los Zetas at this time frame is to allow for the song “Escolta Suicida”, by Beto Quintanilla, to have been written around this time, although it appears to have been officially released at the beginning of 2000. This “narcocorrido” was one of the earliest known references to Los Zetas, with lyrics “Soy del Grupo de los Zetas que cuidamos al patrón, somos 20 de la escolta pura lealtad y valor” which translates as “I’m from the Los Zetas group that protects the boss, there are 20 of us from the guard, pure loyalty and valor”.