In the Shadow of Saint Death The Gulf Cartel and the Price of America’s Drug War in Mexico Michael Deibert An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK Copyright © 2014 by Michael Deibert First Lyons Paperback Edition, 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available The Library of Congress has previously catalogued an earlier (hardcover) edition as follows: Deibert, Michael. In the shadow of Saint Death : the Gulf Cartel and the price of America’s drug war in Mexico / Michael Deibert. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7627-9125-5 (hardback) 1. Drug traffic—Mexican-American Border Region. 2. Drug dealers—Mexican-American Border Region. 3. Cartels—Mexican-American Border Region. 4. Drug control—Mexican- American Border Region. 5. Drug control—United States. 6. Drug traffic—Social aspects— Mexican-American Border Region. 7. Violence—Mexican-American Border Region. 8. Interviews—Mexican-American Border Region. 9. Mexican-American Border Region—Social conditions. I. Title. HV5831.M46D45 2014 363.450972—dc23 2014011008 ISBN 978-1-4930-0971-8 (pbk.) ISBN 978-1-4930-1065-3 (e-book) The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/ NISO Z39.48-1992. To the hundreds of thousands of people in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, and other countries who lost their lives as their governments, at the demand of the United States, prosecuted a war that should have never been fought To all in those countries who have worked to give justice to the victims To all in those countries who worked to give their nations functioning institutions of governance, an endeavor which, in the face of the violence, money, corruption, and impunity arrayed against them, represented nothing short of a revolutionary act And in memory of Sebastian Montiel Quezada, the Mexican The Mexican’s indifference toward death is fostered by his indifference toward life. He views not only death but also life as non transcendent. We kill because life—our own or another’s—is of no value. Life and death are inseparable, and when the former lacks meaning, the latter becomes equally meaningless. Mexican death is the mirror of Mexican life. And the Mexican shuts himself away and ignores both of them. —Octavio Paz, El Laberinto de la Soledad You can have everything. But it has a price. —Former hitman for Los Zetas drug cartel Contents Acknowledgments . vii Note on Names . ix Acronyms . x Prologue . xiii Chapter One: The Frontier. .1 Chapter Two: The Rise of the Gulf Cartel . 21 Chapter Three: Enter Los Zetas . 33 Chapter Four: No Truce and No Quarter . 57 Chapter Five: La Zona Libre. 77 Chapter Six: By Fair Means or Foul . 97 Chapter Seven: Breaking Up . 107 Chapter Eight: Enemies Everywhere . 124 Chapter Nine: The Ghosts of San Fernando. .129 Chapter Ten: States of Siege . .139 Chapter Eleven: The Highway of Death . 150 Chapter Twelve: Casino Royale . .170 Chapter Thirteen: Veracruz. .187 Chapter Fourteen: Messages . 200 Chapter Fifteen: The Executioner’s Song . .215 Chapter Sixteen: Day of the Dead . 225 Epilogue . 232 Notes . .242 Bibliography . 304 Index . 306 Acknowledgments The story of the relationship between Mexico and the United States, and the history and policies that have contributed to it, is a long and compli- cated one, of which the book you hold in your hands is but one episode. Nevertheless, in exploring this aspect of Mexican history, a number of individuals proved to be of invaluable assistance. In Mexico itself, Franc Contreras, Luis Oscar Hinojos Aguirre, Javier Esteban Hernández Valencia, Gustavo Pacheco, Michael Weissenstein, Katrin Mader, and Sonja Wolf all contributed to my ability to write this account, as did a great number of people who, because of concerns about their safety with the situation as it is in Mexico today, will have to remain nameless. To those people, never doubt, however, that I am forever in your debt for all that you were willing to show me and share with me. On the US side of the Rio Grande, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera of the University of Texas at Brownsville, Mark Clark of the Galeria 409, and Virginia Ramos, who first strolled with me across the bridge into Mat- amoros years ago, helped me decode the intricacies of life on both sides of the border. The journalists of the Rio Grande Valley, Marcia Caltabiano- Ponce, Lynn Brezosky, and Ildefonso Ortiz, who knows more about orga- nized crime in the area than anyone I know and who I hope one day will write his own book, provided context and contacts that proved invaluable. Thanks very much to both my agent, Adriann Ranta, and my editor, Jon Sternfeld, for believing in the value of this endeavor. In Miami, where much of this book was written, I would like to thank Anna Edgerton, Anna Blash, Daniela Guzman Peña, Natasha Del Toro, Noelle Théard, and Kym Quidiello for their friendship, and further afield, Hilary Wallis, Anastasia Kitova, Justin Cappiello, Ben Fountain, Meghan Feeks, Sutton Stokes, Gerry Hadden, Philip Schnell, Erin Mobekk, and Pedro Rodriguez. I thank my family, Benjamin Deibert, Christopher Deibert, Caleb Deibert, Elizabeth Deibert, and James Breon, for seeing me along this road. And I remember, in recent years, los que se fueron: Jann Deibert, Joseph Deibert, Leah Breon, Sebastian Quezada, and Philippe Allouard. vii Acknowledgments Because this is a book about organized crime, drug trafficking, vio- lence, and failed policies, it does not focus on the many wonderful aspects of Mexico and its culture. The warmth of Mexico’s people, their unsur- passed work ethic, their devotion to family, their subtle, seductive cuisine, and their incredibly deep and diverse traditions of art, music, and litera- ture are all touched upon, but there is a universe of those to be explored beyond the pages of this book, and I hope that readers will do so. To the people who live in the affected communities in Mexico who can’t just pack up and leave or walk back across the bridge to El Norte like I can, to those who dare still speak out, to the poor people who pile onto buses and on the tops of trains to get from places such as El Salva- dor, Honduras, Guatemala, and elsewhere, heading to Mexico’s northern border and, once there (and en route), face killers with weapons in their hands and an idiotic wall (both real and metaphorical) constructed by my own country: You are braver than I could ever be. Michael Deibert Miami, Florida June 2014 viii Note on Names Following the Spanish custom, the surnames of most of the protagonists in this book are first presented containing both the paternal and mater- nal family names, thereafter using only the protagonist’s first name and paternal surname. ix Acronyms AFI—Agencia Federal de Investigación (Federal Investigation Agency) CCSPJP—Consejo Ciudadano para la Seguridad Pública y la Justi- cia Penal (Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice) CEDH—Comisión Estatal de los Derechos Humanos (State Com- mission for Human Rights) CEM—Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano (Mexican Episcopal Conference) CISEN—Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional (Center for Research and National Security) CJNG—Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generacían CNDH—Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (National Human Rights Commission) DFS—Dirección Federal de Seguridad (Federal Security Directorate) FEVIMTRA—Fiscalía Especial para los Delitos de Violencia con- tra las Mujeres y Trata de Personas (Special Prosecutor for Crimes of Violence Against Women and Human Trafficking) GAFE—Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (Special Forces Airmobile Group) ICE—US Immigration and Customs Enforcement INCD—Instituto Nacional para el Combate a las Drogas (National Institute to Combat Drugs) INEGI—Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (National Institute of Statistics and Geography) PAN—Partido Acción Nacional (National Action Party) PF—Policía Federal (Federal Police) x Acronyms PFM—Policía Federal Ministerial (Federal Ministerial Police) PFP—Policía Federal Preventiva (Federal Preventive Police) PJF—Policía Judicial Federal (Federal Judicial Police) PRD—Partido de la Revolución Democrática (Party of the Demo- cratic Revolution) PRI—Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolu- tionary Party) SAGARPA—Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación (Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food) SEDENA—Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (Secretariat of Na- tional Defense) SIEDO—Subprocuraduría de Investigación Especializada en Delincuencia Organizada (Assistant Attorney General’s Office for Special Investigations on Organized Crime) SSP—Secretaría de Seguridad Pública (Secretariat of Public Security) UGOCP—Unión General Obrera, Campesina y Popular (General Popular Union of Workers and Farmers) xi Nashville Raleigh Santa Fe Oklahoma City TENNESSEE NORTH CAROLINA CALIFORNIA ARKANSAS Albuquerque ARIZONA OKLAHOMA Little Rock SOUTH CAROLINA Los Angeles Columbia Atlanta Phoenix UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MISSISSIPPI NEW MEXICO ALABAMA San Diego Dallas Mexicali GEORGIA Tijuana Montgomery Tuscon Jackson LOUISIANA El Paso TEXAS Ciudad Juárez BAJA