Los Zeta Cartel Recruits MS-13 Members in Guatemala

From Borderland Beat:

Los Zetas criminal organization recruits the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) AKA Las Maras, gang members for training in paramilitary camps in Guatemala, according to Guatemalan authorities.

Los Zetas use their Las Maras recruits in the Guatemalan capital to distract actions and resources of the authorities in order to ensure the control of rural land corridors used for the smuggling of narcotics. Las Maras also provide intelligence support through their organization according to Stuart Velasco, chief coordinator of the task forces of the Ministry of Interior.

Las Maras use their training to improve their criminal operations and to make more money. Perquisites include access to military training, high-powered weapons and drugs for sale or own consumption, he added.

Fox News also reports:

In recent months, authorities say, they have begun to see the first signs that the Zetas are providing paramilitary training and equipment to the Maras in exchange for intelligence and crimes meant to divert law-enforcement resources and attention.

The Zetas, formed more than a decade ago by defectors from Mexico's army special forces, have already joined forces with local drug kingpins in the Guatemalan countryside, and recruited turncoat members of Guatemala's military special forces for operations in Mexico and Guatemala, officials in the two neighboring countries have said.

There is some evidence that other Mexican cartels have paid Central American street gangs to sell drugs for them. And Salvadoran authorities said they are aware of informal links between the Zetas and local cliques of the Mara Salvatrucha paid to sell individual shipments of drugs, but officials have seen no proof of any formal deal between the gangs.

But a formal, durable alliance with the Maras could bring the Zetas thousands of new foot soldiers, extending the cartel's reach into the cities of Guatemala, and, potentially, other countries in Central America where the Maras maintain a grip on urban slums.

Guatemalan authorities told The Associated Press that they believe the Zetas have trained a small group of Maras in at least one camp inside Mexico. Zeta members have spoken of recruiting 5,000 more, although the extent to which they have succeeded remains unclear, officials said.

This is an interesting alliance. Although the articles focuse on Guatemala, it should be remembered that MS-13 is also a key drug distributor in the United States. Thus, this may signal an intent by Los Zeta to gain more influence on the distribution network in the U.S.

Here is a 2006 USA Today article on the gang for some background. And the Wikipedia link.