Arturo Guzmán Decena

Arturo Guzmán Decena
Born	January 13, 1976(1976-01-13) Puebla, Mexico.
Died	November 21, 2002(2002-11-21) (aged 26) Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Charge(s)	Murder, drug trafficking, mercenary.
Status	Death by firearm.

Arturo Guzmán Decena, a.k.a.: Z-1 (January 13, 1976 − November 21, 2002) was a Mexican Army soldier who defected to become a mercenary and commander of the mercenary gang called Los Zetas at the service of Osiel Cárdenas Guillen, the Gulf Cartel's drug lord.^[1] Los Zetas are considered by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as probably being the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and violent drug cartel in Mexico.^[2][3]

Background

Guzmán Decena trained with an elite Mexican military group called Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE) originally trained in counter-insurgency and locating and apprehending drug cartel members. In 1997, Guzmán Decena defected from the Mexican army^[4] and was bribed by Osiel Cárdenas Guillen, the leader of the Gulf Cartel, to become his personal body guard. Guzmán Decena brought with him approximately 30 other GAFE deserters enticed by salaries substantially higher than those paid by the Mexican government. The role of Los Zetas was soon expanded, collecting debts, securing cocaine supply and trafficking routes known as plazas and executing its foes, often with grotesque savagery.^[2][5]

The group's name Los Zetas is given after its first leader, Lieutenant Arturo Guzmán Decena, whose Federal Police radio code was "Z1",^[6] a code given to high-ranking officers.^[5][7][7][8]

Guzmán Decena died during a confrontation in November 2002 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas;^[1][4] his second-in-command, Rogelio González Pizaña (a.k.a.: Z2) was captured in October 2004 and so Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano (a.k.a.: Z3) ascended to the leadership of the paramilitary gang.

See also

• Mexican drug war

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Explorando Mexico Editorial Team. "The Zetas". Explorando Mexico. http://www.explorandomexico.com/about-mexico/9/266/. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Grayson, George. "Los Zetas: the Ruthless Army Spawned by a Mexican Drug Cartel". U.S. Foreign Policy Research Institute. http://www.fpri.org/enotes/200805.grayson.loszetas.html. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 
3. ^ Ware, Michael (August 6, 2009). "Los Zetas called Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel". CNN News. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/08/06/mexico.drug.cartels/index.html. Retrieved 2009-08-07. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Rodríguez Martínez, Marco A. (2006). "El Poder de Los Zetas". Monografías. http://www.monografias.com/trabajos28/poder-zetas/poder-zetas.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Bunker, Robert (July 2005). Networks, Terrorism and Global Insurgency. Routledge. p. xv. ISBN 0-41534819-6. 
6. ^ Los Zetas: Evolution of a Criminal Organization - March 11, 2009
7. ^ ^{a b} Weak bilateral law enforcement presence at the U.S.- Mexico border. Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. November 2005. 
8. ^ Texas Monthly On: Texas True Crime. University of Texas Press. April 2007. p. 44. ISBN 0-29271675-3. 

Persondata
Name	Guzmán Decena, Arturo
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 13, 1976
Place of birth	Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
Date of death	November 21, 2002
Place of death	Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico