Witnesses testified Wednesday that Reta and two other men working for the cartel were paid $15,000 to kill a Laredo man in January 2006. I have no idea, Cardona said. He's a veteran of the Laredo Police Department and one of the few officers who has questioned the young men. And both sported tattoos of "Santa Muerte," the Grim Reaper-like pseudo-saint worshipped by drug traffickers. Rosalio Reta photos, including production stills, premiere photos and other event photos, publicity photos, behind-the-scenes, and more. The man, Jos Enrique Jimnez Zavala, otherwise known as El Wicked, died on Dec. 31 when he was strangled by Jaime Noel Cuevas Baeza, known by El Jimy, who was also convicted for homicide. They either end up in prison, or its likely their tortured corpse will be left along a blood-soaked path to nowhere in the Mexican countryside. Be the first to contribute! For him, there is no future. Flores was shot at least seven times. Rosalio Reta was born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico in 1990, and he was raised on both sides of the United States-Mexico border. Wife is shocked after husband of 15 years asks for permission to have an affair: 'I don't know what to do'. Their short but bloody careers came crashing down swiftly, one after the other. Last month, Zetas leader Miguel ngel Trevio, widely believed to be responsible for escalating the depraved and sadistic wave of narco-terror occurring along the borderlands, was arrested. I will look you in the eyes while you kill me.'. Menu. They lived in a large house in a nice part of Laredo and drove expensive cars. The friends were mingling with questionable characters but he was curious about the narco world. On the border, a lot of people get dragged into this lifestyle, Reta said. On the surface, Gabriel Cardonas eyes belong to a baby face. Some are teenagers, some are from Texas, and some are still on the run. By 19, he was locked in a Texas prison in solitary confinement, facing 70 years jail for murder. Ive come to regret everything Ive done, Reta said. To make a point, sometimes Trevino sent messages along with decapitated corpses of rival cartel members, said Reta. For each ordered hit, they said, they were paid an extra fee about $10,000, and sometimes even more depending on the importance of the targeted victim. It gives you that sense that you could do anything without being touched and having that sense of power, Cardona said. IE 11 is not supported. Trevino then released his team of assassins onto the streets of Laredo, Texas, engaging in a series of high-profile murders. 'It was like regular military training, like what they do here in the United States,' he told CNN. But what we fail to see is that we do it to ourselves.. Cardona was also making a name for himself at that time, and impressing the same narco leaders. Sergio Rodrigues Rosalio Reta is a former Zeta Cartel hitman whom Hari visits at the Texas prison where he is currently serving a 70-year sentence for several murders. All Rights Reserved. Authorities say Reta worked on both sides of the border for Miguel Trevino Morales, the leader of the cartel's operation in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. LAREDO, Texas On a dusty, remote ranch across the Rio Grande from this Texas border town, an intimidating drug lord stood over 13-year-old Rosalio Reta and handed him a gun. Reta said he began to fear that rival cartel members were getting close to killing him as retribution, so while working on an assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, he called a contact at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and surrendered. Reta dropped out of school in sixth grade, Cardona left in the ninth. Industry chief demands planned corporation tax hike from 19 to 25% in this Ukrainian soldier takes out five Russian tanks and three armoured vehicles in ONE DAY using US-supplied Do not sell or share my personal information. CNNs Ismael Estrada contributed to this report. For years, Trevino was the unrivaled leader of the ruthless Zetas drug cartel until police arrested him last month just outside Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Rosalio Reta, convicted drug cartel assassin Over the years the ramshackle neighborhood has developed into a discarded border region where homes sit on dilapidated foundations and families live. In Chasing the Scream, journalist Johann Hari spends three years trying to understand the war on drugs by interviewing hundreds of people who have fought on its front lines. For his part, Cardona is not as remorseful. Cardona says it wasnt long before he also became a drug cartel assassin. Case Details Full title:Rosalio RETA, Appellant v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee Court:Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourth District, San Antonio Date published: Jun 4, 2008 CitationsCopy Citation No. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Reta and Cardona were paid a $500 retainer each week. Get Driving Directions to Temp Release Prison, Texas. The Webb County Courthouse was heavily guarded. Before that, he was a bodyguard and hitman for the leader of the Gulf cartel.He was arrested in 2008 and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class, Taking Vitamin D each day could cut your chances of getting dementia, study claims. Cardona was arrested and pleaded guilty to killing seven men and to conspiracy to kidnap and kill in a foreign country. 2. They were raised in poverty and with the many problems inherent to poverty. Prosecutor and investigators say Reta and Cardona were recruited into a group called "Los Zetas," a group made up of former members of the Mexican special military forces. A Warner Bros. A detective, sitting across the table, asks him how it all started. The comments below have not been moderated. I learned about drugs, theft, vandalism and fights. An El Paso man convicted of killing 17 people, who later became a motivational speaker, was killed by his cellmate in a Chihuahua prison, authorities announced Sunday. All too quickly, he found himself, a young teenager, witnessing Trevios frequent executions at a small ranch house in Nuevo Laredo. "He was torturing two brothers and he made one kill the other," convicted killer Reta said from inside his jail cell. Rosalio Reta is a former Zeta Cartel hitman whom Hari visits at the Texas prison where he is currently serving a 70-year sentence for several murders. If eyes are a window into the soul then unraveling the myth of Gabriel Cardona gets complicated. Historica Wiki is a FANDOM Games Community. Gladiator sequel starring Paul Mescal gets release date CONFIRMED for late 2024 - 24 years after original . It was kind of hard to believe.. In interviews with CNN, Laredo police detectives and prosecutors told how Cardona and Reta were recruited by the cartel to be assassins after they began hitting the cantinas and clubs just across the border. "One thing you wonder all the time: What made them this way?" Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. After he botched a job in Mexico, he knew that he would face Trevino's death, so he surrendered to the law and agreed to testify against the Zetas. H/T Gawker | Photo via The I Files/YouTube, Miles Klee is a novelist and web culture reporter. Reta, a U.S. citizen, was extradited last year from Mexico to face charges in Flores's death. Cardona was often seen driving around town in a Mercedes. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. reenactment Plot summary Add synopsis Genres Documentary Biography Crime Drama Parents guide Add content advisory Details April 6, 2011 (United States) Production company Cineflix Productions See more company credits at IMDbPro It was real hard for me. Cardona estimates he killed between 20 and 30 people. This Houston rodeo food vendor wants you to eat his rattlesnake. In an interview with CNN, Reta describes a night when friends took him across the river to Nuevo Laredo. There were at least seven warrants for his arrest. When most teens are entering high school, Rosalio (Bart) Reta was killing. When Reta arrived at the ranch, it was a crash course in drug cartel culture. LitCharts Teacher Editions. ", In Cardona's interrogation tape, there are clues that "Los Zetas" are reaching deeper and deeper into the United States. He had followed two friends to the ranch across the border where he was ordered to kill for the first time. Cardona laughs as he describes torturing the two boys and dumping their bodies in large metal drums filled with diesel fuel. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Lopez allegedly worked for Teo, a drug lord from the Tijuana area, and allegedly helped the drug cartel dispose of hundreds of victims by dissolving them in acid. But this was a put-on, Slater writes. He grew up one of nine siblings on ramshackle Lincoln St, just blocks away from the Mexican border in Laredo, Texas. At an age when most kids are starting high school, Texas teen Rosalio Reta, now 24, was carrying out bloody murders for one of Mexico's most sadistic and violent drug cartels. Michael. According to a New York Times article from 2009, most of the American youths were recruited in a Nuevo Laredo disco called Eclipse, situated in the main square just across one of two bridges that connect the two Laredos. Jun. He was eighty when I met him, and about to be elected to his sixth consecutive term. 2023 Cable News Network. And like everything in the violent world of drug cartels, unraveling truth and myth seems fleeting. I wasn't living my life,' he told CNN. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. It was this man who had stood over Reta that night, and it has at his behest that Reta carried out more than 30 bloody murders. But investigators started suspecting something more sinister. Escajeda is also presumably responsible for the killing of anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron. Rosalio "Bart" Reta, 17, was immediately sentenced to 40 years in prison. 4, 2008) From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research RETA v. STATE Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourth District, San Antonio The cartel leader looked at Reta and ordered him to shoot and kill a man tied up on the ground. DeSantis looms large over Abbott in Texas, SAPD: Westside double shooting leaves 2 in critical condition. 1 of 3 Authorities say Rosalio Reta Jr., 17, is a member of the ``Zetillas,'' young enforcers for the Gulf Cartel. Reta's face became covered in tattoo markings. It was the ease with which the boys could cross back and forth across the border that made them valuable to the Mexican Zetas drug cartel. His mind isnt haunted by violent images from his former life. Air Date: Apr 6, 2011. If you know nothing about him, its hard to imagine he could have been a lethal assassin. Instant PDF downloads. He said he was under influence of drugs and forced to carry out murders, or cartel leaders would kill him. Some, like the cartel hitman Rosalio Reta and the sadistic sheriff Joe Arpaio, are partially responsible for its violence.Others, like the addiction doctor Gabor Mat and the former president of Switzerland, Ruth Dreifuss . As '24 nears, FL Gov. Alleged member of the gang Los Aztecas, Chavez Castillo has admitted to over 800 murders, sometimes beheading and dismembering them. Reta grew up in Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border, and joined the Zetas at just 13 years old, after meeting its second-in-command, Miguel Trevio. Trevino, 40, faces charges of organized crime, homicide, torture and money laundering, a Mexican government security spokesman told reporters in July. Now you can hear that account for yourself. Reta, 24, and Cardona, 26, still bear signs of their years as feared assassins. TV Shows. If you believe this Record is in error (i.e. The detective sitting across the table from Reta and Cardona in those sessions is Robert Garcia. His friend Cardona is serving a sentence of 80 years. Rosalio Reta and his friend, Gabriel Cardona, were members of a three-person cell of American teenagers working as cartel hit men in the United States, according to prosecutors. Emanuel Arriaga, a spokesman for the Nuevo Leon state Attorney General's office, said Wednesday that prosecutors in Monterrey couldn't link Reta to any killings. When orders from cartel leaders came, the men would begin hunting their prey. Rosalio Reta, Self: Generation Z: Child Soldiers of the Zetas. TV . It was kind of hard to believe.'. Teenagers go there to drink and dance, but cartel members lurk there, keeping an eye out for possible recruits. It looks like we don't have any Biography for Rosalio Reta yet. He was one of the first persons I seen to cut somebodys head off, Reta says of the notoriously bloodthirsty Trevio, who ascended to the top of the violent cartel with acts of spectacular cruelty. I never thought that I was going to die in prison.. Trevino had built control and protection systems to insulate his organization at every level from law enforcement agencies and politicians. US-born Jimenez Lugo was convicted at age 14 for working as a hitman for a Mexican drug gang, the South Pacific drug cartel. He is only in his 20s, but he's facing a lifetime of monotony in solitary confinement. Report: Houston is the No. Teachers and parents! TV Shows. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Rosalio Reta was just 13 years old when Miguel Trevio, leader of the ruthless Zetas, the paramilitary wing of Mexico's Gulf Cartel, recruited him as a killer. He was sentenced to more than 80 years in prison. Rosalio Retas career as a teen drug cartel assassin had begun. These notable hitmen worked in and around the U.S.-Mexico border, involving themselves with powerful and violent drug cartels. Officials initially thought Zavala died from a heart attack after he was found having convulsions in his cell, the El Paso Times reported . Menu. He stood over the 13-year-old and handed him a gun. The third was. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. The teen was arrested in 2010, and told authorities he killed four males by slitting their throat, and was paid weekly in pesos and dollars. Assistant District Attorney Jesse Guillen said the trial in the second case against Reta would likely start soon and would give authorities another chance to add time to the teen's prison sentence. . A close friend, Gabriel Cardona, now 26, lived nearby. For each killing, they were paid between $10,000 and $50,000 and pounds of cocaine. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. The teenagers lived in several safe houses around Laredo and drove around town in a $70,000 Mercedes-Benz. Complete your free account to request a guide. Reta, in Spanish street slang, describes his initiation as an assassin, at the age of 13, for the Mexican Gulf Cartel, one of the country's two major drug gangs. Rosalio Reta, in some of his initial media interviews, expressed glassy-eyed contrition, casting himself as a hapless victim of grave forces beyond his control. Both Reta and Cardona were born to a families with relatives on both sides of the U.S.-Texas border. Biography Rosalio Reta was born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico in 1990, and he was raised on both sides of the United States - Mexico border. Rosalio "Bart" Reta, 17, was immediately sentenced to 40 years in prison. Watch Anderson Cooper 360 weeknights 8pm ET. Rosalio Reta was just 13 years old when Miguel Trevio, leader of the ruthless Zetas, the paramilitary wing of Mexicos Gulf Cartel, recruited him as a killer. 1 most stressful city for workers in U.S. Turner: State takeover of Houston ISD could happen as soon as next week, Houston rap royalty Bun B on returning to Rodeo for another Takeover, How the Houston Zoo moved its flock of flamingos to a new home, Why the Texans should take Bijan Robinson with the No. For Reta, the Mexican border town of Nuevo Laredo, with its nightlife, its danger and its glamor, intrigued the restless teen, and one fateful night, his curiosity was to be sated. . Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Cardona is asked, "Where else are the Zetas?" Opinion: Horror wont end with cartel leaders arrest. Although he initially commented I like what I do in regards to his career as a hitman, Reta in recent weeks has affected a more remorseful tone: It gets to a point where I cant even stand myself, he says. 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