They are anonymous. No one has seen their faces, but in Mexico, everyone has heard of them. They are the Mata Zetas (Zetas killers), a group that wants to eradicate Los Zetas, a terrifying Mexican drug gang. What are their fighting methods? Exactly the same as those used by their enemies. Who are exactly the Mata Zetas?
It can be said that Mexico is a country of the daily violence where its inhabitants are exposed, at any time, to murder, extortion, kidnappings, and crime. Not a day passes without the media announcing a violent crime. The novelty is that, from early 2010, the Mexican narco trafficking game has a new player, the Mata Zetas (The Zetas Killers), a group intended to rid the country of the Zetas cartel, that appear to have police or military training.
In intimidating military gear and masks, they claim to be a counter-cartel vigilance force. They wow to kill members of the Zetas, a notorious drug cartel responsible for hundreds of murders in Mexico. Some says that the Zeta Killers are government sponsored but, after this accusation, the Mata Zetas released a video explaining their mission and goals while denying any government link. As recorded in the video that you can watch (in Spanish) at El Blog del Narco (the Narco Blog), they admit that they don't follow "extortion, kidnapping, theft, harassment, and everything that, in one way or another, affects the national heritage, family or morality." "I do not shirk our responsibilities, but only fighting on equal terms can be achieved to eradicate the root cartel Los Zetas, and therefore we ask officials and authorities to support our fight to stop Los Zetas. The only goal of our armed forces is to end the cartel Los Zetas. "
The Mata Zetas, a self-appointed guerrilla group, are faceless but proudly Mexican. They claim to be acting outside the law but always for the well-being of the people. Related to the announcement of this "extermination" force, Mexican government officials have claimed that Los Mata Zetas are another crime group and that "In Mexico, there is no place for actions, people, groups or organization that harms or violates the rule of law, regardless of cause, motive or purpose."
The truth is that in Mexico, paramilitary groups have a growing influence, capability, and membership. Mexican cartels hire illegal armed forces to ensure the control of the corridor from Mexican border to the U.S., while organized citizens, either by city or by families, hire armed security guards to protect their lives and properties. The social and political situation is getting weirder down in Mexico. Federal police, army troops, anonymous warriors, and mercenaries all keep fighting against each other in a country where the end of the narco violence does not seem close.
Do you thin these Mata Zetas have the right to fight crime outside the law? Is violence an effective remedy for fight crime or will it have a boomerang effect?
Here's a video where you can hear and watch the Mata Zetas manifesto (in Spanish):
Picture: YouTube
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