Los Zetas was a Mexican crime syndicate which was founded in 1999 by Arturo Guzman Decena and Osiel Cardenas Guillen, composed of Mexican Army commandos that deserted to the Gulf Cartel, which hired them as their mercenaries during the Mexican drug war. Los Zetas broke away from the Gulf Cartel in January 2010 and used a violent terrorist campaign, including beheadings, massacre, and a policy of brutality over bribery, to coerce many public officials and Gulf Cartel leaders into yielding to their power. Los Zetas took over much of the eastern coast of Mexico along the Gulf of Mexico from its mother cartel, the Gulf Cartel, and the group used the city of Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas as its base of operations. Los Zetas dissolved in 2018, as years of infighting and a recent crackdown led to the demise of the Old School Zetas and the fragmentation of Los Zetas into smaller "Zeta" subgroups such as the Cartel del Noreste.
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