People »Organization »Organized Crime »Drug Cartel »Los Zetas

Basic Information

Los Zetas is a criminal mercenary army for Mexico'sGulf Cartel. The group is comprised of ex-soldiers, including many members of the Mexican Army's elite Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE). GAFE is an elite unit trained to locate, hunt, and apprehend members of Drug Cartels, and the Gulf Cartel has actively recruited from it's ranks to form Los Zetas. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) advises that the Los Zetas paramilitaries may be the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and violent of all paramilitary enforcement groups. It is believed that they were originally trained at the military School of the Americas. Also, they were trained by foreign specialists, including Americans, French, and Israelis, in rapid deployment, aerial assaults, marksmanship, ambushes, small-group tactics, intelligence collection, counter-surveillance techniques, prisoner rescues and sophisticated communications.[1]

They serve the Cartel as bodyguards, enforcers, debt collectors, executioners and assassins.

See Also

• News: Police - U.S. teens were hit men for Mexican Cartel

Sources

Bibliography
1. Wikipedia entry

Game and Story Use

• Pretty much the most threatening paramilitary cadre the GM can throw against PCs in the Modern Day. They have extensive military training, and strong financial backing.
  • Considering their complicated backgrounds and training, they could make for a very sinister Quirky Miniboss Squad.
  • Los Zetas might be running El Rey, or just be hired on as security for such a place.
• Source of inspiration for Parallel organizations in other settings.
  • A group of Knights or Adventurers who got hit with an alignment-reversing curse? Killed by a Vampire? Bribed by the Dragon they couldn't defeat?
  • The most badass Time Travelers in all of history, from half a dozen scattered eras and cultures? Per Godwins Law of Time Travel, they're working for the Nazis now.
• Founded and organized by well-trained commandos. Now, according to the news (see link above) they are recruiting US teenagers. Los Zetas like a real-world embodiment of the Authority Equals Ass-Kicking trope, with Mooks at the bottom and a Big Bad Evil Guy at the top.

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