A decade after the San Fernando massacres, Mexico’s drug war continues

Mexico’s crime syndicates are just as much a part of the country’s infrastructure as its government

An expressway in San Fernando, Mexico. Image credit: Judgefloro, Wikimedia

Ten years ago this month, commuter buses containing 193 civilians were hijacked on Mexico’s Federal Highway 101.

Passengers were raped, tortured, and murdered by criminal syndicate Los Zetas, their bodies found months later in mass graves across the city. Los Zetas’ motive was simple: to kill those yet to be recruited by the gang's rivals.

Made up of former elite military members, the group was known for its brutality and propensity for violence.

By 2012, the cartel was Mexico’s largest drug gang. Its territory spanned the country’s east coast, across more than half of Mexico’s 32 states. A year later, the authorities started fighting back, arresting the group’s leaders.

Its territory was seized by rivals and today most of it is run by a group called Jalisco New Generation, considered "one of the most powerful and fastest-growing [cartels] in Mexico" by the US government.

After years of brutality, little remains of Los Zetas, but its legacy of violence is growing. Last year, almost 33,000 people were murdered in Mexico. Just last week, authorities reported that 13 law enforcement officers were killed by a “drug gang” near Mexico City. While it’s unclear which group committed the crime, the message this sends to the country is stark: a decade may have passed since the San Fernando massacres, but Mexico’s syndicates show no signs of stopping.