ABSTRACT
El 40 believed that his small-time drug sellers had pocketed money they were supposed to turn over to a cartel collection agent. Accompanied by several thugs, Los Zetas’ number two commander paid a surprise visit to the shabby boarding house where the vendors lived. They barged into their quarters and lined the men up against the wall. Heriberto Lazcano and Treviño Morales are the undisputed leaders of Los Zetas, but they make an odd couple. For many years, Los Zetas’ commander in chief, The Executioner, often hid in one of his several heavily guarded houses in Valle Hermoso, southwest of Matamoros. The prevalence of pseudo-Zetas and continual changes in the organization’s assignments keep authorities guessing about who is in charge of a given plaza, city, or state, further complicating plans to track, corner, and capture mid-level figures. El 40 and his brother Omar Treviño Morales manage the cartel’s finances, which constitute a parallel structure to the organization’s criminal activities.
