Massacres as signs of power: criminal governance by Los Zetas in Tamaulipas, Mexico

Abstract

The process of criminal governance in Mexico has its origins in the development of the first armed groups in the 1980s, commonly known as cartels. After the dissolution of the Guadalajara Cartel in the late 1990s, the Mexican territory became marked by the activities of multiple criminal organizations, such as Los Zetas. Reaching its peak in the 2010s, it was characterized by its illegal activities marked by violence. Thus, this article aims to analyse the actions carried out by Los Zetas in the federative entity of Tamaulipas, from the perspective of criminal governance, using as a basis the San Fernando massacres, which occurred in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and claimed the lives of nearly 200 individuals in total, shedding light on the debate about the governance capacity of cartels in Mexico.