Massacres and Bribes: The Evidence the US is Using to Bring Down ‘El Z-40’

The massacres in Allende and Piedras Negras, which occurred in 2011 in Coahuila, have reached the United States courts, where the Department of Justice asserts it will prove at trial that Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, alias El Z-40, was the mastermind and perpetrator of the murders of men, women, and children.

Furthermore, the Department of Justice indicated the existence of evidence that, after his arrest in 2013, Treviño Morales continued to commit crimes from prison and even bribed the director of a maximum-security prison in Mexico to allow his extensive criminal operation.

These points were raised by prosecutors from the Money Laundering, Narcotics, and Forfeiture Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice in a brief to Judge Trevor McFadden, in which they oppose the request made by El Z-40’s lawyers to lift the special security measures that have severely restricted his contact with the outside world.

Milenio reported that on January 19, Treviño filed a motion in court formally requesting the removal of Special Administrative Measures (SAM), a special incarceration regime for terrorists and high-risk criminals, which, in his case, were approved directly by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

This is how the process against Z-40 in the U.S. has unfolded.

According to his lawyers, their client was subjected to “unjustified” segregation and isolation, as he had no history of negative behavior either during his time in prison in Mexico or since his extradition to the United States. They even argued that in recent years he had read more than a thousand books, practiced yoga, among other things.

In their response, prosecutors described a completely different criminal and asserted that, as they will prove at trial, he is one of the most violent drug kingpins to have operated this century, requiring the highest security measures available in the Virginia prison where he has been held since March 2025.

“He was the leader of an incredibly violent drug cartel, which is a designated foreign terrorist organization; he has operated his organization both in and out of custody; and he has employed violence, kidnapping, and torture to retaliate against witnesses and authorities.

“There is a substantial risk that the defendant’s communications or contacts with certain third parties could result in death or serious bodily injury, including to potential witnesses in this case,” the prosecutors stated.

Massacres and Bribery

In describing Treviño Morales’ criminal profile, prosecutors noted that since 2008 he had been second-in-command of Los Zetas, one of the most violent criminal organizations in the hemisphere; and from 2012 onward he became its leader.

In 2013, even while imprisoned, he continued to direct the criminal organization that would later become the Northeast Cartel.

Treviño translated that leadership not only into drug trafficking operations, but also into acts of extreme violence, including the execution of dozens of people in March 2011 in Piedras Negras and Allende, Coahuila.

This was in retaliation for the cooperation that members of his criminal group had provided to U.S. agencies, specifically the DEA.

“As the evidence will show at trial, the murders occurred because the defendant (Treviño Morales) suspected that a cartel member had provided information about him to U.S. authorities,” prosecutors stated.

Treviño Morales’s wave of revenge, according to prosecutors, unfolded in two phases. The first targeted people close to the alleged DEA informant who was in Piedras Negras. This culminated in the massacre of innocent people.

“(Treviño Morales) led a convoy of armed men to the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, where they kidnapped several family members and associates of the alleged informant. The defendant ordered his men to take the kidnapped victims to a soccer field on the outskirts of the city, where they were executed by gunfire. Among the victims were children and other people who weren’t involved in drug trafficking,” the document states.

A few days later, Z-40 sent a convoy of armed men to the town of Allende, in the same state, to carry out a second wave of kidnappings and murders. All of this was intended to send a message of retaliation to people linked to the alleged “traitors.”

“(Treviño) sent armed men to the nearby town of Allende, where they killed dozens more residents, many of whom also had no direct connection to the cartel or drug trafficking.

“In doing so, the defendant sent the message that he and his cartel would punish cooperation with authorities with death, and not only the death of the person suspected of cooperating, but also that of their family members, associates, and others with only tangential ties to them,” Justice Department officials added.

In addition to this pattern of violence, prosecutors added that the evidence they have documents the criminal activity that Treviño continued to carry out even while incarcerated. This occurred even in a federal maximum-security prison thanks to the corruption of the facility’s warden.

“At trial, the government will present evidence that the defendant and his brother Omar bribed officials in charge of the facilities where they were incarcerated, including the warden of at least one maximum-security prison, and that the defendant used intermediaries to transmit messages and “Orders to cartel members abroad,” the prosecutors emphasized.

In that context, Justice Department officials insisted on the application of Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) against Treviño, in the Virginia jail, to curb his criminal activity and, in turn, safeguard the integrity of investigators and potential witnesses in his case.

Prosecutors Assert that Z-40 Isn’t Being Held incommunicado

In their statement, prosecutors indicated that, despite the harshness of the special regime applied to Treviño, he is neither being held incommunicado nor segregated, as his lawyers claimed, nor has he been subjected to cruel or degrading treatment.

They explained that to date, 16 people, including lawyers, investigators from his team, and immediate family members, have been granted permission to visit him at the prison, and that there have been days when he has been allowed visits of up to seven hours.

They added that since Z-40 was expelled from Mexico and following the imposition of the Special Measures Against Involvement (SAM) ordered by the Attorney General, he has been permitted two 15-minute phone calls with his family every two weeks.

Finally, the prosecutors denied that the Mexican drug lord is chained and handcuffed at all times, as argued in the motion filed by his defense team.

“According to the detention center’s policy, the defendant is handcuffed and shackled when being moved within the facility, but the restraints are removed upon arrival at his destination.

Approximately two months ago, the defendant submitted a request to have the restraints removed during visits. The center granted that request.” The defendant isn’t subject to any restrictions when he is in his cell, when he receives visitors, in the shower, or in the recreation area,” prosecutors stated.

They refuse to drop charges

The Department of Justice also responded to a second motion filed by the Mexican drug lord’s defense requesting the dismissal of some of the charges against their client in the original indictment.

These included charges related to homicide and organized crime, arguing that the allegations were too general and vague, making it impossible to develop a defense strategy.

Prosecutors asked the judge to dismiss the request, deeming it premature. Among other things, they indicated that a sixth supplemental indictment is being prepared against Miguel Ángel and his brother Omar Treviño, alias Z-42, which will expand on the details of the charges.

They added that the indictment is a general description of the alleged criminal conduct, but that specific details, such as the alleged homicides or drug trafficking operations, are contained in the evidence packages being provided to the defense.

Source: Milenio