They were torturing people and getting information from them, said Reta. Cardona and Reta didnt last long in that world. For his part, Cardona is not as remorseful. 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 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. Rosalio Reta was just 13 when he committed his first murder for the Zetas drug cartel; . And like everything in the violent world of drug cartels, unraveling truth and myth seems fleeting. Once he bragged to police, 'If I cannot hit you in the forehead from a distance, I will kneel down in front of you and put my forehead against the muzzle of your gun. At the age of 13, he crossed the bridge into Nuevo Laredo in search of adventure and was introduced to the Gulf Cartel when his friend Gabriel Cardona took him to a ranch to report for duty for Miguel Trevino Morales. Air Date: Apr 6, 2011. H/T Gawker | Photo via The I Files/YouTube, Miles Klee is a novelist and web culture reporter. Rosalio Reta(born 1990) was an enforcer for the Los Zetas gang in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas during the 2000s. He grew up one of nine siblings on ramshackle Lincoln St, just blocks away from the Mexican border in Laredo, Texas. 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. Reta and Cardona agreed to give CNN rare interviews from the Texas prisons where both men are serving life sentences for murder. Join Facebook to connect with Rosalio Reta and others you may know. out-of-date, incorrect offense/sentence details, record expunged, etc), please send an email to: Temp Release Prison, Texas Inmates & Offenders, https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=06748142, Search is on for inmate accidentally released from Colorado jail, Search for Escaped Inmate in Ellis County, Search underway after inmate escapes in Sabine Parish, Three inmates escape Athens County correctional facility, one apprehended, Man Accused of Helping Callahan County Inmate Escape Self-Surrenders, Oklahoma DOC unveils new inmate search feature, Search continues for Inmate who escaped from Lawrence County work release, Correctional Facility or Supervision Authority, Department of Corrections Inmate / Offender Record. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Reta grew up in Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico read analysis of Rosalio Reta They lived in a large house in a nice part of Laredo and drove expensive cars. But the kind of mischief Reta would get up to in his young life couldn't be more different from the cartoon kid's boyish pranks. 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. 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. SHARN STEINMANN/Houston Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Lori Garcia . It was real hard for me. Watch Anderson Cooper 360 weeknights 8pm ET. 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. 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. 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 was a good student, but he was more interested in what was happening across the river from his town, in the cantinas and barrios of Nuevo Laredo. 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(Prosecutors say during his trial Reta used make-up to cover the facial markings.) The detective sitting across the table from Reta and Cardona in those sessions is Robert Garcia. TV Shows. They each say they lived the life for about three years, Cardona from age 16 to 19; Reta, from age 13 to 16. Rosalio Reta in a Texas state prison in 2009 at age 19. Credit. Rosalio Reta has claimed to police that he killed 30 people. Reta, 24, and Cardona, 26, still bear signs of their years as feared assassins. Denounced by Mexicos Catholic Church, Santa Muerte is a popular symbol among drug traffickers. Although Z-40 virtually ruled northern Mexico without fear, as Reta came to know him he began to see Trevino as a regular guy. It looks like we don't have any Biography for Rosalio Reta yet. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Teachers and parents! For each killing, they were paid between $10,000 and $50,000 and pounds of cocaine. The cartel leader looked at Reta and ordered him to shoot and kill a man tied up on the ground. "Los Zetas" liked what they saw in Cardona and Reta. Refine any search. Historica Wiki is a FANDOM Games Community. When most teens are entering high school, Rosalio (Bart) Reta was killing. 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. Their short but bloody careers came crashing down swiftly, one after the other. Many Zeta leaders often use numbers as their cartel nicknames. There were at least seven warrants for his arrest. Thats why a lot of people follow him.. That same night, Trevino had Reta execute his first victim, and he became part of a team of highly-skilled assassins chosen from Mexican-American youths after training in handguns, assault rifles, and rocket launchers. It's eating me inside little by little, and there's nothing I can do or say to justify my actions.'. 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. Cardona laughs as he describes torturing the two boys and dumping their bodies in large metal drums filled with diesel fuel. Mr. Reta and his friend Gabriel Cardona, 22, are serving what amount to life terms. It was kind of hard to believe.. "There's no doubt about it.". Reta was trained in a secret camp where he learned how to be a sicario, a hitman. The teenagers lived in several safe houses around Laredo and drove around town in a $70,000 Mercedes-Benz. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. 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. 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. Release Calendar DVD & Blu-ray Releases Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets In Theaters Coming Soon Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. 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. After some prodding, Cardona estimates he probably killed close to 30 people in less than two years. Jailed teenage hitman gets 30 years in Laredo killing, , a 19-year-old Houston native, pleaded guilty in state district court in Webb County to shooting. "We have to remember that the United States is the market they are trying to get to. appreciated. Despite Reta's youth, "he's a cold-blooded killer," Guillen said. The former editor of the Daily Dots Unclick section, Klees essays, satire, and fiction have appeared inLaphams Quarterly,Vanity Fair,3:AM,Salon,the Awl,the New York Observer,the Millions, and the Village Voice. "They were just kids themselves, waiting around playing PlayStation or Xbox, waiting around for the order to be given.". While in prison, Zavala spoke to middle and high school students as the principal speaker in the Libre de Prisiones program, according to Proceso. He was sentenced to more than 80 years in prison. His Stetson, his shining yellow lawmakers badge, and his sneer have become national symbols of a particular kind of funhouse-mirror Americana, and his hefty chunk of Arizona, home to nearly four million people, is now Harry Anslingers last great laboratory. He was sentenced to 70 years in prison for his murders. A teenager accused of being a hit man for a drug cartel pleaded guilty to murder Thursday, abruptly ending a trial that exposed the cartel's workings in the U.S. and Mexico. He allegedly deserted the army in 1999 and was a top lieutenant to current Zeta leader Heriberto Lazcano. He had followed two friends to the ranch across the border where he was ordered to kill for the first time. Reta killed his first victim at 13 years old, when a drug lord handed him a gun and commanded him to shoot another man. But what we fail to see is that we do it to ourselves.. The third was arrested by Mexican authorities and stabbed to death in prison there three days later. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. The friends were mingling with questionable characters but he was curious about the narco world. Its hard to pinpoint just how much money they were paid. But this was a put-on, Slater writes. Inmate Search Alabama Arizona Arkansas Federal Bureau of Prisons California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Cardona was arrested and pleaded guilty to killing seven men and to conspiracy to kidnap and kill in a foreign country. Complete your free account to request a guide. Reta was a young boy headed down the wrong path. Regardless of which story is true, Hari concludes, undermine Mexicos economy. I have no idea, Cardona said. . Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. For years, Trevino was the unrivaled leader of the ruthless Zetas drug cartel until police arrested him last month just outside Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. And that's why the cartel recruited these young Americans. 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. Im really a good person, he said. A Warner Bros. Born to a hairstylist mother and father who worked construction, Reta told Fox News he had a good childhood and grew up playing soccer and baseball, and loved skateboarding earning him the nickname 'Bart', as in Simpson. Before Trevios capture and arrest by Mexican marines a week ago, the Center for Investigative Reporting spoke with Reta about his horrific experience as a murderous cog in Los Zetas. 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. 2023 Cable News Network. ', Black woman says man repeatedly tried to break into her room at 1am in D.C. hotel, suspects trafficking ring (updated), Why is this still happening man: Student film aftermath of school shooting in viral TikToks, We have to be careful: Woman shares scary experience with Bolt taxi driver amid recent U.K. murders (updated), Coroner confirms Gabby Petitos remains found in Wyoming, death ruled a homicide, *First Published: Jul 22, 2013, 3:04 pm CDT. In that moment, even though it was another man he was instructed to kill, Reta's life was over. ", Prosecutors say both teens were given military-style training in Mexico. At first glance, the violence looked like isolated, gangland-style killings. CNN has also obtained detailed court records as well as several hours of police interrogation videos. DAVID MONROY/AFP/Getty Images Show More Show Less 5 of 15 Rosalio Reta. Young Guns Photos. Flores was shot at least seven times. Click through the slideshow to view infamous Mexican hitmen. He still faces separate charges in another killing in Laredo that was allegedly carried out on the orders of the Mexican Gulf Cartel. Absolute control, Reta said of Trevinos power. The mysterious drug lord who ordered Reta to shoot the stranger at the ranch that day, Reta says, was Miguel Angel Trevino. Rosalio Reta, Self: Generation Z: Child Soldiers of the Zetas. An argument broke out: A man wanted to know what Reta, a stranger, was doing there. 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. Watch: Astros SP Luis Garcia debuts new windup after rule changes, Oops! He's a veteran of the Laredo Police Department and one of the few officers who has questioned the young men. 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