The origin of the Zetas and their expansion in northern Coahuila

Abstract

Various academic papers and newspaper articles have focused on the recent violence in northern Coahuila. El Colegio de México’s Seminar on Violence and Peace has approached the analysis of this situation in two phases. The first studied two paradigmatic bouts of violence in northeastern Mexico, and took the form of a book: State of Neglect: Los Zetas, the State, Society and the Victims of San Fernando, Tamaulipas (2010) and Allende, Coahuila (2011). In collaboration with the Inter-American Academy of Human Rights in Coahuila, the second phase explored the findings and reflections of the first part of the research in greater detail. This resulted in The Zeta Yoke, containing a detailed analysis of the internal dynamics of the Piedras Negras prison, and furthered research in northern Coahuila.