A key figure within Los Zetas Cartel and the brother of the organization’s chief leader will spend 18 years in a Mexican prison on weapons violations. The drug lord could see additional time for other pending charges.
Over the weekend, a Mexican federal judge sentenced Oscar Omar “Z-42” Trevino Morales to 18 years following a conviction on the possession of weapons restricted for military use, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office revealed. The charge was heightened by the use of said weapons to protect money and resources obtained from illicit activity. Two other key Zetas, Juan Pablo Tellez De la Cerda and Ricardo Aurelio “Don Richi” Torres Rodriguez, received the same sentence.
Trevino Morales is the brother of Miguel Angel “Z-40” Trevino Morales, the leader of Los Zetas (Cartel Del Noreste or CDN) who is alleged to still control his criminal empire from behind bars. Mexican authorities arrested Omar Trevino in 2015 in ritzy San Pedro, part of the Monterrey metropolitan area, where he had been hiding with some of his key operators. Omar Trevino is still facing additional charges for which he could face an extended sentence.
During the same hearing, a federal judge also sentenced three Zetas to 13 years and four months in prison each on charges of possession of weapons restricted for military use. The operators were identified as Carlos Arturo “El Plátano” Jiménez Encinas, Miguel Ángel “El Jerry” Anzaldúa Meléndez, and Rodolfo “El Rudy” Campbell Encinas.
The Trevino Morales family built a reputation as ruthless and sadistic operators. Under their reign, Los Zetas-CDN were linked to numerous cases of mass murder, incineration, dismemberment, kidnapping, and extortion of innocent victims and rivals.
The Trevino family is ultimately responsible for the mass disappearance of close to 400 from the rural communities in northern Coahuila near Allende. Breitbart News spent three months investigating how Los Zetas were able to kidnap, murder, and incinerate hundreds while officials tried to cover up the case. Approximately half were taken to the state prison in Piedras Negras, where Los Zetas used 55-gallon drums to incinerate them. The rest of the victims were murdered on private ranches where Los Zetas used ovens to incinerate the remains and dump them in fields or rivers.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.