Who is head of the zetas

In a simultaneous operation, five others were arrested, including the cartel's suspected financial operator, Rubido said. For the Mexican government, Trevino's arrest marks the second high-level capture of a purported drug boss in a week.

Servando Gomez, leader of the Knights Templar drug cartel, was captured Friday in the state of Michoacan. Still, reports of violence, corruption and extortion continue to flow from the areas of northern Mexico where the Zetas operate. The U. Trevino Morales is believed to have been at the helm of the Zetas since , inheriting the post from his brother, Miguel Angel Trevino Morales. Miguel Angel, or "Z," was known as a ruthless drug lord with a reputation for burning his enemies alive and ordering mass killings.

The group's fragmentation into several smaller splinter cells has made it increasingly difficult to identify those in leadership positions. Other sources have been more specific, stating that El Huevo currently serves as leader of the Northeast Cartel faction. The Zetas criminal empire once had a presence that stretched across Mexico, with their stronghold stretching from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey.

Their reach also expanded into Central America, especially Guatemala. However, now the group is limited to Mexico and occupies a patchwork of territory across the country. The Zetas' most critical areas remain Tamaulipas and the Gulf Coast. However, two things generally remain the same: their rivalry with their former parent organization the Gulf Cartel, and their rivalry with the Sinaloa Cartel.

Nevertheless, even this may be changing in the Zetas' current fragmented state where alliances and disputes are more localized. It is unclear how much of this network now remains. However, this does not mean the name will fade any time soon. Instead, they are likely to continue the process of fragmentation, and splinter cells like the Northeast Cartel will continue to operate with an increasingly local focus on their criminal activities.

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The Zetas' break from the Gulf cartel led to violent conflict between the two groups in Mexico, particularly in the northeast. Areas in northeastern Mexico, especially along the border with the US and Tamaulipas, have also been the site of intense clashes between Gulf factions , while the Zetas are largely based in neighboring Nuevo Leon.

It's unclear what effect Guizar's arrest will have on the Zetas' stability in southern Mexico. In recent years, the cartel has largely been run by plaza bosses, or regional leaders, Vigil said.

As in northern Mexico, Guizar's arrest could lead to more violence if a leadership vacuum opens and causes more internal feuding.

It is likely to further erode an organization that Vigil described as already "pretty well crippled. Guizar "was a trusted member of the cartel," he added.

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