Gulf Cartel-Zetas Split

Los Zetas formally broke from the Gulf Cartel in February 2010, sparking a brutal territorial war across northeastern Mexico. The split was driven by the growing power imbalance between the two organizations: the Zetas had evolved from hired enforcers into a force that eclipsed the cartel they served.

The split triggered alliances and counter-alliances across Mexico’s cartel landscape. The Gulf Cartel allied with the Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Michoacana against the Zetas. The resulting violence, particularly in Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, produced some of the worst atrocities of Mexico’s drug war.