This afternoon the bullets were once again flying over my city, as Mexican Army soldiers captured the JEFE DE PLAZA of the Zetas in Monterrey Héctor Luna “El Tori” (short for Hector), along with other collaborators in an operation in the city’s northeastern sector.

The Zetas responded by blocking 16 major roads and intersections in city—the famous narcobloqueos never seem to get old for these guys—but it sure was no fun for those stuck in traffic for 5 hours today. As always, the vehicles were stolen and then used for the roadblocks, and were mostly buses and other “heavy units.”

The passengers who were booted out of the buses at the time of the hijackings described the Zetas as “young gangbangers,” basically new recruits from the toxic neighborhoods.

In return for the capture of their fat-faced boss, the Zetas did a little drive-by decoration of the facade of the AEI Installation (the State Investigations Agency) with a couple of grenades, to show government who the real authority is around these parts.

And where were the cops at this time, the public might ask? Well, since they received death threats, the authorities decided to close City Hall and call back all the cops to headquarters as a safety measure. That’s some classic Mexican policing right there: the people suppossed to be keeping us safe are the first ones running for cover…

But back to the Zetas: I had heard the name “Tori” mentioned a few times while talking to friends who are in the know, so he’s probably an important figure, a pesado, and his people are not taking his capture very well. But I say, good riddance. The only good Zeta is a dead Zeta or at least a locked up and tortured Zeta in a dark cell in SIEDO. Now, all that the other cartels gotta do is grab the other Zetas: El Flaco, Taliban, 40 and Lazca and then we’ll be done with it. Just get it done!

I’m not talking about the drug biz. Hell no. I want them to sell and traffic drugs, as much as possible, to the gringos. I’m proud of the Mexican drug trade. But I—and just about every other person in Mexico—want the Zetas dead and bloody with their brains splattered all across the pavement. These guys aren’t drug dealers. If you want to know what the Zetas are, imagine if a division Taliban hoodlums—extremely well trained hoodlums—suddenly found themselves fully armed in a small Canadian town and decided to run things, decapitating the locals, issuing fatwahs, taking whatever they wanted because Allah commanded it and generally doing business like they were waging a holy war against the infidels in medieval times. Imagine that, and you’ll understand…

The details of the capture are scarce at this point, but all I can tell you is that the long, coordinated hunt for the Zetas here in Monterrey by the army, federales, marines and just about every other drug cartel makes it very clear to me that the Zetas have made Nuevo Leon, my state, their base of operations—and they have a firm hold. And the fucking Gulf Cartel is in large part to blame. They only care about reclaiming the plazas of Tamaulipas, and their purge war there has driven the motherfucking zetacuaches to Nuevo Leon.

The citizens of Monterrey can’t wait to see the final showdown to exterminate the Zetas, and everyone hopes and prays that rest of the cartels are not thinking about leaving Nuevo Leon for the Zetas. It would be a real bummer having to live under their rule.

Stay tuned for updates…

Pancho Montana is an eXiled Special Mexican War on Drugs Correspondent.

As a native of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, located in northern Mexico, Mr. Montana lives in Gulf Cartel territory. That means the streets belong to the Zetas, a paramilitary organization trained by the Yankees and hired by the Gulf Cartel to keep things civilized and business booming.

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