* Above, they took the DJ's headphones, too. Via The Exiled.
Monterrey -- and all of Mexico's northeast, really -- is a war zone right now. The Zetas and the Gulf cartel are hashing out their historic break-up in the only way that a Mexican drug-smuggling organization knows how, by brutally killing as many members of the enemy as possible, and by terrorizing everyone else.
On Sunday there was a huge march in Monterrey to call for peace as the bloodshed rages on. I wonder if some of Monterrey's ravers were there. At The Exiled, an online magazine with a readable edge, writer "Pancho Montana" reports on the Zetas' recent practice of crashing big all-night parties and roughing up the kids.
Why? The Zetas are desperate to retain control of the lucrative drug market in Monterrey. If you don't buy from them, they seem to be saying, you won't buy from no one. An excerpt:
When the thugs had all the ravers assembled into a flock, the little bastards proceeded to rob everyone. Going person to person, they took cell phones, cameras, jewelry, cash, and anything else shiny that got their attention. They were like little ravens with automatic weapons. They even stole the DJ's passport and credit cards. Fuck, they even took his headphones.
But that was all just collateral. The main purpose of their visit were the drugs. With flashlights in hand, they scouted the floor for baggies of weed, pills, LSD, coke, anything ... They must have felt like they were on an Easter egg hunt.
The leader then addressed the people: "Raise your hand if you like weed," he asked the crowd. But nobody raised a hand or so much as moved. They were too scared. So he repeated his question, this time while firing a quick burst from his R-15 into the air. "I said who likes fucking weed?!!" Naturally, a lot of hands went up.
The entire piece is worth the read, even if you're a bit more on the skeptical side and don't fully buy that this pseudonymous writer is telling the pure truth. He suggests toward the end that the Zetas' hold on Monterrey may be close to running its course.
* Previously, "The drug tienditas of Monterrey."