Yeah very accurate. They raised the bar in ruthless violence. They didn't last as a massive nationwide cartel as they were too out there but then others have taken their place. Best Daniel.
The Zetas were not only an extremely violent cartel but also very tech and computer savvy. They were responsible for a huge white collar crime boost in Las Vegas with some very good hacking schemes and phishing emails. Also real estate extortion schemes were also part of their financial plans. Many are convinced that ex-Zeta or well trained former fledglings are still involved. Their ultra violence in Vegas never did appear in any significant fashion.
Also the Zetas provided the foundation for the pathway of military weapons to Mexico. There former connections are still being used by other cartels.
Hey Carlos - You can say "protection racket" in a few ways such as "extorsión sistematizada" - but racket alone can also mean something like - "actividad criminal lucrativa" and "racketeering" as a crime can be translated as "crimen organizado" . All best there!
There are other drug dealing organizations that did not start from shakedowns not in Mexico but in other parts of the world. The foundation of many political and revolutionary groups have been corrupted by the extremely profitable outcomes of drug dealing as a fund raising project to the point the politics disappears. ISIS, PLO, Shining Path, Taliban, Al Qaeda, FARC, Contras, Baader-Meinhof gang known also as the Red Army, Hamas with Mossad assistance to counter influence of the PLO, the Kurds, Al Shabaad, Boko Haram and the American Vietnam Anti-War movement especially SDS are just a few of the examples. The IRA had another trade offered to many, bombmaking. They were the godfathers of bombmaking workshops around the world. They did not need drugs, especially with huge monetary donations from the US.
As a side personal note in case it is not clear. Logan Heights, "Barrio Logan" did and does not have rich kids. My wife is from that area of San Diego and because of the poverty of Logan Heights many polluting companies have operated in the area without any restraint in regards to their pollution. The personal health of many of the residents was severely compromised by the ground, water and air pollution. It remains on the the worst polluted areas not only in California but the United States. The poor cannot afford attorneys nor provide the necessary cash contributions to the politics of San Diego.
Great point on the political groups and how they become gangsters. I think this is one of the central dynamics in this world today. The point Ben was making on Logan Heights is you had the barrio guys from there alongside rich kids from some wealthy families in Tijuana. It was a curious and explosive combo.
Yeah, I will have a piece identifying something in that vein soon. Same shit, different TV Show. (Also Mike, what is the best email - the one you use for Substack? I want to send you something.)
At the least, spammers scrape it. With AI, even writing it broken up will become useless. I will vanish from the net one day, and appear on special occasions via a laptop I've taken off an unsuspecting journalist in Mexico :)
Another great read about a horrible, violent situation. If only it was the stuff of novels. But I'm curious if you can comment on how US policies, money, and training aided the growth of the cartels. Take Los Zetas. I understand they got their start as part of Mexican Army’s Special Forces Airmobile Group (GAFEs), some of the most elite, expert, and notorious killers ever to grace the Mexican military, and planet. I understand they were trained in the US between 1996 and 1998. But some discovered there was much more money to be made as the pet paramilitary for the Gulf Cartel, until they broke away to form their own crime syndicate circa 2010. And then there was Plan Mexico money....
Thanks much for reading and best there Sarah. Yes, the Zetas is a real horror story and one that indeed involved U.S. training. I should do a special piece, or podcast episode, on their origins as it comes up a lot here. Also, indeed there were billions of U.S. dollars flowing in via Plan Merida as the situation escalated. I did an interesting interview with former President Felipe Calderon talking about that. Anyway, great to hear your voice here and please stay in touch.
One thing keeps popping up in a lot of your work. The most ruthless of these organizations seems to be The Zetas. Is that an accurate description?
Yeah very accurate. They raised the bar in ruthless violence. They didn't last as a massive nationwide cartel as they were too out there but then others have taken their place. Best Daniel.
The Zetas were not only an extremely violent cartel but also very tech and computer savvy. They were responsible for a huge white collar crime boost in Las Vegas with some very good hacking schemes and phishing emails. Also real estate extortion schemes were also part of their financial plans. Many are convinced that ex-Zeta or well trained former fledglings are still involved. Their ultra violence in Vegas never did appear in any significant fashion.
Also the Zetas provided the foundation for the pathway of military weapons to Mexico. There former connections are still being used by other cartels.
I didn't realize it was the Zetas in Vegas - although I knew they were big into horses of course. I'll have to look more into that one.
Very enlightening. Of course shakedowns are part of daily life for many Mexicans be it from local
authorities or now from criminals.
Yeah, exactly. But how long will this last for of people putting up paying a corrupt weak government and strong violent cartels. All best there MarkyV
Dear Ioan, how would you translate "rackets" into Spanish?
Thanks for the great work, thanks to Benjamin T. Smith, I will read the book.
Hey Carlos - You can say "protection racket" in a few ways such as "extorsión sistematizada" - but racket alone can also mean something like - "actividad criminal lucrativa" and "racketeering" as a crime can be translated as "crimen organizado" . All best there!
Thanks!
There are other drug dealing organizations that did not start from shakedowns not in Mexico but in other parts of the world. The foundation of many political and revolutionary groups have been corrupted by the extremely profitable outcomes of drug dealing as a fund raising project to the point the politics disappears. ISIS, PLO, Shining Path, Taliban, Al Qaeda, FARC, Contras, Baader-Meinhof gang known also as the Red Army, Hamas with Mossad assistance to counter influence of the PLO, the Kurds, Al Shabaad, Boko Haram and the American Vietnam Anti-War movement especially SDS are just a few of the examples. The IRA had another trade offered to many, bombmaking. They were the godfathers of bombmaking workshops around the world. They did not need drugs, especially with huge monetary donations from the US.
As a side personal note in case it is not clear. Logan Heights, "Barrio Logan" did and does not have rich kids. My wife is from that area of San Diego and because of the poverty of Logan Heights many polluting companies have operated in the area without any restraint in regards to their pollution. The personal health of many of the residents was severely compromised by the ground, water and air pollution. It remains on the the worst polluted areas not only in California but the United States. The poor cannot afford attorneys nor provide the necessary cash contributions to the politics of San Diego.
Great point on the political groups and how they become gangsters. I think this is one of the central dynamics in this world today. The point Ben was making on Logan Heights is you had the barrio guys from there alongside rich kids from some wealthy families in Tijuana. It was a curious and explosive combo.
I question myself for finding so much suffering to be an entertaining read.
Yeah, I will have a piece identifying something in that vein soon. Same shit, different TV Show. (Also Mike, what is the best email - the one you use for Substack? I want to send you something.)
Cartels, Neo-Nazis, Tsotis, Politicians... yeah, I often feel its the "Same shit, different TV Show".
That would be words@themikehampton.com then - back to you there soon
You helped the hackers defeat my defence :)
Ooops! I thought people were just being funny when they wrote it that way...
At the least, spammers scrape it. With AI, even writing it broken up will become useless. I will vanish from the net one day, and appear on special occasions via a laptop I've taken off an unsuspecting journalist in Mexico :)
Another great read about a horrible, violent situation. If only it was the stuff of novels. But I'm curious if you can comment on how US policies, money, and training aided the growth of the cartels. Take Los Zetas. I understand they got their start as part of Mexican Army’s Special Forces Airmobile Group (GAFEs), some of the most elite, expert, and notorious killers ever to grace the Mexican military, and planet. I understand they were trained in the US between 1996 and 1998. But some discovered there was much more money to be made as the pet paramilitary for the Gulf Cartel, until they broke away to form their own crime syndicate circa 2010. And then there was Plan Mexico money....
Thanks much for reading and best there Sarah. Yes, the Zetas is a real horror story and one that indeed involved U.S. training. I should do a special piece, or podcast episode, on their origins as it comes up a lot here. Also, indeed there were billions of U.S. dollars flowing in via Plan Merida as the situation escalated. I did an interesting interview with former President Felipe Calderon talking about that. Anyway, great to hear your voice here and please stay in touch.
Yes, Please! Perhaps that could be the topic of our long overdue recorded discussion. I'll email you. Thanks, Ioan.