A report in Milenio describes how the Zetas control the human trafficking trade in the central state of Hidalgo, where an estimated 500,000 migrants (mostly Central American) pass each year. The Zetas have been blamed for last week's grisly massacre of 72 migrants in Tamaulipas. According to a university study in Hidalgo, the Zetas have had a hand in the human trafficking business since 1997, long before their break with the Gulf Cartel. Migrants who pass through Hidalgo by train or truck must pay extortion fees to the Zetas, or else face beatings or imprisonment. The Zetas' involvement in human trafficking may be an indication of how it is increasingly difficult to traffic drugs via the U.S. border, forcing cartels to turn to other sources of funding.
Was this content helpful?
We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.
DONATEWhat are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.
We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.
Was this content helpful?
We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.
DONATELatest News
Related Content
Recent US sanctions against an alleged Jalisco Cartel operative have revealed that the powerful Mexican group is using the resort…
Dutch authorities have seized three Mexican drug loads at Schiphol Airport, marking a new trafficking trend for Europe.
Mexico’s two most powerful organized crime groups are reportedly sourcing precursor chemicals from the same suppliers to produce fentanyl.