Wednesday, Jun. 22, 2011
Heriberto Lazcano
Aliases: The Executioner, El Lazca, Z-3
Affiliation: Los Zetas
Born: Dec. 25, 1974, in Veracruz
Bounty: $5 million (U.S.), 30 million pesos (Mexico)
What We Know: Lazcano served in the Mexican armed forces as part of the elite Airborne Special Forces Group. He reportedly received U.S. and Israeli military training, but defected in the late 1990s to work as an enforcer for the Gulf cartel. He has since broken off to head one of the most murderous gangs in the Mexican drug war, the Zetas — allegedly responsible for the recent massacre of 72 migrants.
UPDATE: Lazcano was reportedly killed on October 9, 2012 in a gunfight with marines in Coahuila, a northern Mexico border state, according to information from the Mexican navy.