Rogelio González Pizaña

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is González and the second or maternal family name is Pizaña.

Rogelio González Pizaña
Born	(1974-03-01)1 March 1974 Mexico
Died	6 December 2015(2015-12-06) (aged 41) Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Other names	L-20 Z-2 El Kelín
Occupation	Los Zetas leader
Predecessor	Arturo Guzmán Decena
Successor	Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano

Rogelio González Pizaña (1 March 1974 – 6 December 2015), commonly referred to by his alias Z-2 and/or El Kelín, was a Mexican former drug lord and one of the founders of Los Zetas, a criminal organization originally formed by ex-commandos from the Mexican Armed Forces. Unlike the rest of the founders of Los Zetas, however, he did not serve in the Mexican Armed Forces before joining the drug trade.^[1]

Criminal career

Rogelio González Pizaña, also known as Z-2 or El Kelin,^[2] was born in Mexico on 1 March 1974.^[3] In the late 1990s, the Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, fearing his rivals, decided to form an elite armed squadron to protect him. The group, which became known as Los Zetas, was mostly composed of former members of the Mexican Armed Forces. Some of the members, including their founder Arturo Guzmán Decena (alias "Z1"), deserted from the Mexican Special Forces Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE) to work for the drug lord. González Pizaña was the second-in-command of Los Zetas, just behind Guzmán Decena. The third-in-command was Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano (alias "Z3"). Los Zetas, under the command of the three men, led covert operations in northern Mexico to decimate rival drug cartel members and to consolidate the Gulf Cartel as the leading criminal organization on the Gulf of Mexico.^[4]

Kingpin Act sanction

On 24 March 2010, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned González Pizaña under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act"), for his involvement in drug trafficking along with fifty-three other international criminals and ten foreign entities.^[5] The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing any kind of business activity with him, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.^[6]

Arrest and sentence

He was arrested by federal agents and members of the now-extinct Policía Federal Preventiva (PFP) in Matamoros, Tamaulipas on 29 October 2004.^[7] He was sentenced to 16 years in prison on 21 January 2014.^[8]

Release

On 30 August 2014, González Pizaña was released from prison. This occurred because a court in Guadalajara, Jalisco decided to change his original 16-year sentence given by a court in Toluca, State of Mexico with a new one. The new sentence was of 6 years and 3 days in prison (prison time he had already served since his arrest).^[9][10] Despite his release, the DEA still maintains an open investigation on González Pizaña for his involvement in drug trafficking and for threatening two U.S. federal agents in Matamoros in 1999.^[11]

Death

On 6 December 2015, González Pizaña was killed along with his family in Matamoros by suspected members of the Gulf Cartel.^[2]

See also

• Mexican Drug War

References

1. Castillo García, Gustavo (10 October 2012). "Fundador zeta, El Lazca fue entrenado por el Ejército y agentes de EU en combate al crimen". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
2. "Ejecutan a un fundador de los 'Zetas' en Matamoros". El Siglo de Durango (in Spanish). 6 December 2015. Archived from the original on 12 December 2015.
3. "Recent OFAC Actions". Office of Foreign Assets Control. 24 March 2010. Archived from the original on 4 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
4. Logan, Samuel (16 February 2012). "A Profile of Los Zetas: Mexico's Second Most Powerful Drug Cartel". Combating Terrorism Center. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
5. "DESIGNATIONS PURSUANT TO THE FOREIGN NARCOTICS KINGPIN DESIGNATION ACT" (PDF). United States Department of the Treasury. 15 May 2014. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
6. "An overview of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act" (PDF). United States Department of the Treasury. 2009. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
7. "Cae 'El Kelín' del cártel del Golfo". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 29 October 2004. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
8. Mosso, Rubén (21 January 2014). "Dan 16 años de cárcel a ex líder de Los Zetas". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
9. "Al estilo Caro, líder "Zeta" sale de prisión" (in Spanish). El Informador (Mexico). 14 September 2014. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
10. "Liberan a 'El Kelín' fundador de Zetas" (in Spanish). El Diario de Coahuila. Published from El Universal (Mexico City). 14 September 2014. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
11. "Investiga DEA a 'El Kelín' por amenaza a agentes" (in Spanish). Diario de Juárez. El Universal (Mexico City). 16 September 2014. Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.