Los Zetas
Mexican criminal syndicate
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| May 2020 | Moisés Escamilla, a leader of the 'Old School Zetas', died in prison due to COVID-19. |
| March 2020 | Senior Los Zetas operative Hugo Alejandro Salcido Cisneros (El Porras or Comandante Pinpon), leader of the 'Tropa del Infierno' hitmen group, was killed in a gun battle with police in Nuevo Laredo. |
| January 2020 | Los Zetas regional leader José Carmen N. (El Comandante Reyes) was arrested in Oaxaca, believed to be in charge of operations in 12 Veracruz municipalities. |
| July 2019 | Mexican authorities detained Jorge Antonio 'El Yorch' Gloria Palacios, second-in-command of the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) faction, and Hugo 'El Ganso' Sanchez Garcia, head of Los Zetas in San Fernando. |
| May 26 2019 | A Los Zetas operative in the Veracruz municipalities of Las Choapas and Agua Dulce was arrested by the Mexican Navy. |
| April 9 2019 | José Roberto Stolberg Becerra (La Barbie) was arrested in Jalisco, reported to be the leader of the Los Zetas la Vieja Escuela (Old School Zetas) faction. |
| March 2019 | March 2019: Texas Republican congressman Chip Roy introduced a bill proposing to list the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas as a foreign terrorist organization. |
| February 9 2018 | Mexican authorities arrested José María Guízar Valencia (Z-43) in Mexico City's Roma neighbourhood, with the US offering a $5 million reward for his capture. |
| 2017 | Los Zetas controlled 40% of Mexico's oil market, demonstrating significant economic influence and potential to cause economic instability in partner nations. |
| February 13 2017 | Venezuelan vice president Tareck El Aissami was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department, with accusations of facilitating drug shipments to Los Zetas and trafficking drugs to Mexico and the US. |
| January 16 2017 | BPM Festival shootings at the Blue Parrot nightclub in Playa del Carmen killed five people (two Mexicans, one American, one Canadian, and one Italian) and injured 15. A hand-painted sign signed by 'El Fayo Z' was hung in the town. |
| March 23 2015 | Ramiro Pérez Moreno (El Rana), a potential successor to Z-42, was captured along with 4 other men, with 6 kilos of cocaine and marijuana, rifles, and a hand grenade. |
| March 3 2015 | Mexican security forces arrested Omar Treviño Morales (Z-42), the last known leader of the remaining Zetas structure, in a Monterrey suburb. |
| May 9 2014 | Founding member Galindo Mellado Cruz and four other armed men were killed in a shootout during a Mexican security forces raid in Reynosa. |
| October 12 2013 | Mexican authorities captured top Zetas operative Gerardo Jaramillo (El Yanqui), leading to the seizure of a large weapons cache including assault rifles, grenade launchers, ammunition, bullet-proof vests, and balaclavas. |
| July 14 2013 | Mexican Marine Corps captured Zetas leader Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales (Z-40) in Anáhuac, Nuevo León, near the Tamaulipas border. |
| 2012 | Obama administration imposes sanctions on Los Zetas as one of four key transnational organized crime groups. |
| 2012 | Los Zetas form an alliance with Colombian criminal group Los Rastrojos, establishing control over drug trafficking routes in La Guajira (Colombia) and Zulia (Venezuela), creating a strategic corridor to the U.S. and Europe. |
| 2012 | United States posts a $5,000,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Miguel Treviño Morales (Z-40). |
| 2012 | Former Governor Tomás Yarrington accused of money laundering for Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel. |
| October 9 2012 | Mexican Navy confirmed the killing of Los Zetas leader Heriberto Lazcano in a firefight with Mexican marines near the Texas border. |
| September 17 2012 | Over 130 Los Zetas inmates organized a brazen prison break in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, walking directly out of the front gate to waiting trucks in broad daylight. |
| June 12 2012 | Miguel Treviño Morales (Z-40) and two of his brothers are arrested and indicted on charges after raids in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. |
| February 19 2012 | Apodaca prison riot saw 44 Gulf cartel inmates killed and 37 Zetas escaped from prison. |
| January 2012 | Mexican government escalated its offensive against Los Zetas by announcing plans to install five new military bases in the group's primary operational areas. |
| January 30 2012 | Mexican Attorney General issues a communiqué ordering three former Tamaulipas governors and their families to remain in the country while being investigated for potential cartel collaboration. |
| January 4 2012 | Altamira prison brawl resulted in 31 Gulf cartel inmates being killed. |
| 2011 | Short film Keep Your Enemies Closer depicts Los Zetas, with Manny Pérez playing Jimmy 'The King' Agilar, a dangerous drug lord from the cartel. |
| 2011 | Only 10 of the original 34 Zetas remained fugitives, with most killed or captured by Mexican law enforcement and military forces. |
| 2011 | Massacre at Allende, Coahuila, where an estimated 300-500 civilians were killed after the Zetas accused two local men of betraying the organization. |
| 2011 | Analysts conclude that neither regional nor federal government have control over Tamaulipas territory due to extreme drug violence and political corruption. |
| November 12 2011 | Tampico Mayor Óscar Pérez Inguanzo arrested for 'improper exercise of public functions and forgery' of documents. |
| November 7 2011 | 650 policemen were released from their duties after failing or refusing corruption control tests, further demonstrating the systemic corruption within Tamaulipas police forces. |
| August 25 2011 | Los Zetas conducted the Monterrey casino attack, killing 52 people. |
| July 15 2011 | A violent confrontation inside a maximum security prison in Nuevo Laredo resulted in 7 inmates dead and 59 escaped. Five on-duty guards were also reported missing. |
| May 15 2011 | Massacre of 27 farmers in Guatemala was discovered. |
| May 9 2011 | Federal Police and Mexican Army disarmed all police forces in Tamaulipas, starting with the cities of Matamoros and Reynosa, highlighting the extensive corruption within local law enforcement. |
| April 6 2011 | The San Fernando massacre began, lasting until 7 June, resulting in 193 people killed. |
| 2010 | Governor Flores and Reynosa Mayor Óscar Luebbert Gutiérrez initially deny armed confrontations and widespread violence in Tamaulipas, later acknowledging the escalating organized crime situation. |
| 2010 | Los Zetas featured in the film Predators, with Danny Trejo playing Cuchillo, a ruthless enforcer for the cartel. |
| 2010 | Analysts identify Los Zetas as the largest organized crime group in Mexico in terms of geographical presence, with significant territories across multiple states. |
| 2010 | Los Zetas were responsible for the Puebla oil pipeline explosion, which killed 28 people, injured 52, and damaged over 115 homes. |
| 2010 | Miguel Treviño Morales reportedly takes leadership of Los Zetas, displacing Heriberto Lazcano and gaining significant power within the organization through his violent approach. |
| December 17 2010 | A massive prison break occurred in Nuevo Laredo, with 141 inmates escaping from a federal prison. |
| October 5 2010 | Rival cartel hitmen kill two Zeta members in Brownsville, Texas, extending the conflict to U.S. soil. |
| August 24 2010 | Los Zetas carried out the San Fernando massacre, where 72 migrants were found dead. |
| April 5 2010 | A convoy of ten trucks with gunmen entered a prison in Reynosa, breaking into cells and liberating thirteen 'extremely dangerous' inmates without resistance. |
| March 25 2010 | Forty inmates escaped from a federal prison in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, highlighting the widespread prison security issues in the region. |
| February 2010 | Los Zetas formed a cartel alliance with the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, Juarez Cartel, and Tijuana Cartel to counteract the alliance of the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, and La Familia Michoacana cartels. |
| February 2010 | February 2010: Los Zetas broke away from the Gulf Cartel and formed their own independent criminal organization, becoming direct rivals to their former associates. |
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