Fragmentation of Los Zetas
The death of Heriberto Lazcano (Z-3) in October 2012 and the arrests of Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales (Z-40) in July 2013 and his brother Omar (Z-42) in 2015 shattered Los Zetas into rival factions:
- Cartel del Noreste (CDN): Based in Nuevo Laredo, designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US in February 2025. The most direct successor.
- Zetas Vieja Escuela: “Old School Zetas” who rejected Z-40’s leadership and aligned with the Gulf Cartel against the CDN.
- Grupo Bravo / Talibanes: Regional splinter factions.
The fragmentation followed the same pattern as the Guadalajara Cartel’s breakup in 1989: state action removing leadership produced not the end of trafficking but its splintering into competing, often more violent successor organizations. The power vacuum accelerated the rise of CJNG (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación), which had originally emerged as “Mata Zetas” (Zeta Killers).