Leva was willing to spend 30 million US dollars to hire an organization called Los Zetas, and it was no ordinary group.
Los Zetas is an erging criminal organization with a very particular nature.
xican drug trafficking groups evolved to be roughly divided into two types, one is represented by old-guard forces such as the Gulf Group and Sinoloa Group.
Most of them center around family mbers, with a strong local base, building roads and schools for the community, and maintaining good relations with local officials.
In xico City, they have high-level protective umbrellas, and although the gangs often battle with each other, the intensity and ferocity are not too high, barely adhering to the underworld's code of conduct.
Until the rise of Los Zetas, which directly turned the violence index of xican criminal organizations to the maximum, changing the cartel landscape completely.
The history of Los Zetas can be traced back to 1999 when a problem erged in one of the old xican criminal organizations, the Gulf Group. The boss at the ti, Abrego, was captured by the police and extradited to the United States to play the "soap ga" with his black brothers.
After an internal power struggle within the group, Canas erged as the new leader. However, he was not a founding family mber of the Gulf Group, so after taking power, he felt very insecure, fearing both internal assassination and arrest by the police.
Facing internal and external threats, he ca up with an ingenious plan—to pay a high salary to bribe Lieutenant Arturo Desena of the xican Special Forces, asking him to select so special soldiers dissatisfied with their inco and then form a team to serve as his personal bodyguards.
Arturo Desena was only 23 years old, but he was already a veteran, having received professional training in the Special Forces and participated in the suppression of the Indian peasant uprising in Chiapas, xico, in 1994—known for his calm mind and ruthless thods.
Later, he was transferred to Tamaulipas State to serve as the chief federal marshal, a location that was the stronghold of the Gulf Group.
Arturo was quickly bought off by the drug lords, providing them with security protection. This kind of situation was all too common in xico.
During his dealings with the drug lords, Arturo, who had grown up poor, was exposed to their extravagant lifestyles and eventually couldn't hold back, opting to retire from the army and join the Gulf Group.
After Canas took charge, he had Arturo form a team of special soldier bodyguards, and for Arturo, this was not a difficult task as long as the money was right.
Soon, he recruited more than 30 xican army special soldiers to form the Los Zetas Organization.
The na originated from Arturo's radio code Z while serving as a federal marshal. Thus, the initial core mbers of the organization were nad with Z, followed by numbers in succession.
The only exception in the organization was Z2 Gonzalez, who did not have military or police experience. He was simply a confidant inserted by the new boss Canas of the Gulf Group to supervise the operation of Los Zetas, essentially acting as an overseer.
All mbers of Los Zetas were professionally trained, and since the Gulf Group was wealthy, they equipped them with gear comparable to that of mbers of the United States Special Forces, naturally making their combat power extraordinary.
Relying on the formidable combat power of Los Zetas, Canas quickly consolidated his position as the leader of the Gulf Group.
However, it was too wasteful to spend so much money on these special soldiers just to have them as bodyguards. Soon, Canas expanded the responsibilities of Los Zetas, involving them in various criminal activities of the Gulf Group, turning it into a separate and effective organization within the group for his own profit.
These special soldiers were quick to get the hang of things and beca Canas' most reliable assistants. Many who refused to submit to Canas, as well as governnt officials and police posing a threat to him, were killed by the hands of the Los Zetas Organization.
However, ill-gotten gains do not last long.
In November 2002, Z1 Arturo was killed by the xican military at a restaurant in Matamoros. It was said that he was planning to et his father, so he did not bring his subordinates, and ended up outnumbered and riddled with bullets like a hornet's nest.
After Z2 Gonzalez took over Los Zetas, he struggled to command respect due to his lack of a special soldier background. He was quickly sidelined, and in practice, it was Z3 Lascano who was in charge.
After 2004, Z2 Gonzalez of Los Zetas and the boss of the Gulf Group, Canas, were both arrested and imprisoned one after the other. The new boss of the Gulf Group, Sanchez, handed over control of the entire Los Zetas Organization to Lascano, officially establishing a new hierarchy.
And this is precisely why Leva was willing to spend a fortune to hire Los Zetas.
On xican soil, there is no gang organization more ruthless and fierce than Los Zetas.
Of course, there are no secrets that cannot be revealed.
The very night after Leva and Sanchez reached a cooperation agreent, Kelly's call ca through to Song Heping's cellphone.
"Ms. Kelly calling so late, surely it's not because you miss and can't sleep, right?"
Song Heping did not have much ceremonious respect for the head of the Secret Action Departnt, after all, everyone knew what roles they were playing.
It's just mutual exploitation. No one should really consider themselves as superior, inferior, or close friends beyond age.
"Song, I heard you've tad Shorty?"
"That's right, madam. Your information is very accurate. Shorty isn't exactly tad, but at least he listens to now," Song Heping said. "Everything is progressing smoothly. In a few days, I will take Barrett to Monterrey City, where he will officially take over the Balot Organization's sales and smuggling network."
Kelly actually felt quite upset upon hearing this.
She originally wanted Song Heping to take this position, but he made a drastic move by sending the hidden asset she had placed by his side straight into the volcano's mouth.
It's not easy to sit in that position.
Especially given the current complex situation of the xican underworld, with the sll of gunpowder perating every corner, gang wars could break out at any mont.
Once a fight starts, whoever takes over Balot's forr position becos the target of everyone's arrows, not only the opposing gangs, but even the ambitious folks under their command, and even the xican police would put Barrett high on their watchlist.
And surely, the CIA can't inform the xican police that he is their undercover agent, can they? If so, wouldn't that confirm the long-standing rumor that the CIA is trying to control the xican drug market?
"Madam, why don't you complint ? Look, your money wasn't wasted. I've taken control of xico's largest drug trafficking group and the biggest smuggling sales network without shedding blood. How co you don't seem excited at all?"
Seeing that Kelly didn't imdiately respond, Song Heping teased with an implied aning.
Kelly could only offer so half-hearted praise against her will: "Well done, really not bad..."
She then said, "Song, you're talented. Are you interested in officially joining the CIA? We can allocate funds for you to set up an independent operational departnt."
The latter half was definitely sincere and ca from Kelly's heart.
"No way!" Song Heping imdiately refused because there were so things he could accept and others he could not.
Collaborating is a matter of interest.
Joining ans working together.
The forr is about money.
The latter pretends the CIA champions patriotism.
He's a proud person of China. Why would he love the nation of Arica?
"I'm not interested in joining you."
Kelly felt slightly unhappy: "What? Does joining us put you out? So many people want to join us but don't have the qualifications."
Song Heping said, "It's not that I look down on the CIA, but I only talk money. Cooperating with you, I can straightforwardly set my terms. Join you? Beco your subordinate? Then haggle over money with you? Write reports and wait for approvals, or operate in secret like you, controlling the drug market in xico to make money? If it's the forr thod, I can't stand it. If it's the latter, what's the difference from now?"
Kelly was rendered speechless.
What he said seed quite reasonable.
Suddenly, she couldn't think of a rebuttal.
"Alright, if you're not interested, I won't insist," Kelly said. "I didn't call you tonight to invite you to join the CIA, but because we've received the latest intelligence. Leva and Sanchez have reached a cooperation agreent, and according to the current situation, the other two major families have joined them as well. You'll probably face a bloody storm next."
Song Heping sneered: "I never planned to fight them in a bloodbath, but I have a habit — I don't provoke trouble but I'm not afraid of it either. If they want to play hard, I'll respond; if they want to negotiate, I welco them. Ready to fight till the end; the door's wide open for talk!"
Kelly said, "This ti it's not simple, because it's said that the Los Zetas Organization from the Gulf Group has set their sights on you. Soone is offering a high price to hire them to take you down. Be careful, those guys are psychopaths. Our people have clashed with them, and they're not easy to deal with."
"Los Zetas?" It was the first ti Song Heping had heard of this organization. "What's that all about?"
"A criminal organization ford by forr mbers of the xican Special Forces. They've received training from our country's Special Forces, so their level is not low," Kelly explained. "Moreover, they are desperados who don't follow any rules. Many xican officials have been assassinated over the years, and it's all related to them. A few years ago, after the organization's number one guy, Arturo, was killed, Lascano, who now goes by the code na Z3, took over as the boss of Los Zetas. He and his n went straight to kill four officials from the Office of the Attorney General of xico, declaring openly that it was an act of revenge. They're different from traditional drug cartels. While old-school drug lords normally bribe governnt institutions and only get violent with rivals, Los Zetas prefer to achieve their goals through violence no matter who the target is. This ti, they're probably after your life."
"I got it. But taking my life won't be that easy..." After hearing this, Song Heping felt not even a pinch of fear but rather so excitent, eager for a confrontation: "I'll be waiting for them to co to ."
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