How Los Zetas Built a Criminal Empire

They were trained to fight drug cartels. Instead, they built one of the most feared criminal organizations in Mexican history. In the late 1990s, a group of approximately thirty elite Mexican soldiers abandoned the military to work for the Gulf Cartel. What began as a small security force would eventually become Los Zetas, a ruthless criminal empire that spread across Mexico and into Central America. But Los Zetas weren't just another drug cartel. Under leaders like Heriberto Lazcano (Z-3) and Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales (Z-40), they developed a criminal business that made money through drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, stolen fuel, and even American horse racing. From the streets of Nuevo Laredo to the Mexican military's hunt for Heriberto Lazcano, this is the story of how Los Zetas built a criminal empire, and why removing its leaders didn't bring that empire's influence to an end. CORRECTION — 48:22: The narration implies that the Mata Zetas became known as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) years later. Both names were already in use in 2011. The Mexican Navy’s October 7, 2011 communiqué (314/2011) explicitly identified arrested suspected CJNG members as also calling themselves “matazetas.” Subscribe to Cold Ledger for more investigative crime documentaries. Disclaimer: This documentary is presented for educational and informational purposes. Criminal allegations are attributed to official investigations and reporting where applicable. 0:00 Los Zetas 1:57 The Deserters 8:25 The Army 14:42 The Franchise 23:26 The Break 29:46 The Numbers 37:26 The Ball Game SOURCES & REFERENCES Investigations & Research: ProPublica / National Geographic — How the U.S. Triggered a Massacre in Mexico (Ginger Thompson, 2017) El Colegio de México — En el desamparo (2016) and El Yugo Zeta: Norte de Coahuila 2010–2011 (2017) Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) — Special Reports on Migrant Kidnappings (2009, 2011) InSight Crime — Los Zetas, Gulf Cartel, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén and Heriberto Lazcano investigations Committee to Protect Journalists — María Elizabeth Macías Castro case Texas Monthly — Borderline Insanity NPR — Nuevo Laredo Police Chief Alejandro Domínguez (2005); Zetas Radio Network Investigation (2011) The Dallas Morning News — Miguel Treviño Morales investigations (2013) The Texas Tribune — Capture of Z-40 (2013) Court Records & Government Sources: U.S. v. José Treviño Morales et al. — Federal trial and sentencing records, Western District of Texas (2013) U.S. Department of Justice — Los Zetas Leadership Indictments, Extraditions and Arraignments (2024–2025) U.S. Department of Justice — Jaime Zapata and Víctor Ávila Ambush Investigation and Prosecutions U.S. Department of the Treasury — Cartel del Noreste Sanctions and Financial Network Investigation (October 2026) FBI and DEA — Treviño Horse-Racing Money Laundering Investigation (2012–2013) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — Special Agent Jaime Zapata Memorial Pemex — Stolen Condensate and Fuel Trafficking Litigation (2010) Additional News & Historical Reporting: Associated Press, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle, SFGate, CBS News, Fox News, Al Jazeera, KPBS, ABC Australia, Small Wars Journal, El País, El Universal, El Economista, Proceso, Infobae, Milenio, Zócalo and Wikipedia (dates cross-checked against other sources). Interviews & News Footage: Reveal / Center for Investigative Reporting — I Was a Hit Man for Miguel Treviño (Rosalio Reta) VICE News — The Massacre in Allende Fox News — Former ICE Agent Víctor Ávila interview Teleamazonas Ecuador — Luis Freddy Lala Pomavilla coverage MILENIO, Imagen Noticias, N+ Univision, Excélsior, Azteca Noticias, Televisa Monterrey, TvNoticias, RCG Más, Zócalo, UnoTV, Punto de Referencia, Efekto Televisión and Coyote News AP Archive, Associated Press, AFP News Agency, CNN and KSAT 12 CNDH and Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA / Defensamx) Felipe Calderón archival addresses — Morroforpino and karloz mx Ruidoso Downs — 2010 All American Futurity race footage (SWannouncer) Photography & Archival Documents" U.S. DEA, FBI, ICE, Department of Justice and Department of the Treasury; Wikimedia Commons; Associated Press; El Diario de Nuevo Laredo; Committee to Protect Journalists; Getty Images; Chicago Tribune; Infobae; Webb County Sheriff's Office; Houston Chronicle; ProPublica and other credited news organizations. Aerial, Stock Footage & Production Assets: Aerial footage: Versus Mx, Dee Trott, Palindroned, James – BeBop, Ricardo Reyes, elpidio alanis and Eco Papa Metro #LosZetas #TrueCrimeDocumentary #MexicanCartels