US State Department Offers 5MM Dollars For 'Los Zetas' New Leader

The US State Department announced last Wednesday that they are offering $5MM for any information that will lead to the capture of José María Guízar Valencia, believed to be the new leader of ‘Los Zetas’. The reward amounts to the largest sum of money to be legally offered for the capture of drug dealers. The cartel from the south of Mexico surged in 1999 and was integrated by former military soldiers and former policemen, who originally formed the ‘Cartel del Golfo’. Later in 2010, the group split to form their own drug trafficking network.

“Guízar Valencia is responsible for introducing thousands of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine to the US every year and has completely taken control over the south of Mexico,” said the US State Department in a statement. “Since the decease of the original ‘Los Zetas’ leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, and the capture of his replacement, Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, also known as Z-42; José María Guízar Valencia, also known as Z-43, Charly, Chema or Carlitos, has been in charge of the network ran in the south of the country,” continued the message.

The Narcotics Rewards Program was established by Congress in 1986 as a tool to assist the US government as a tool to identify and bring to justice major violators of US narcotics laws. As previously mentioned, the program gives the Secretary of State statutory authority to offer rewards of up to $5MM to reward anyone who provides information leading to the arrest or conviction of named drug traffickers.