Arturo Guzman Decena & Zapatista rebellion

arturo guzman decena was born on the 13th of january 1976 in the state of puebla, mexico. arturo was born in a poor rural town and spent his early years growing up in poverty. his parents struggled to make ends meet but they managed to get arturo into school and he completed both middle and high school. arturo's father was said to be extremely strict and he insisted that his son joined the army to essentially get a job for life and to make something of himself.

arturo guzman signed up to join the army just after turning 16 years old in 1992. it was immediately apparent arturo had found his calling. he breezed through basic training and became a full member of the mexican army. he quickly impressed his superiors due to his work ethic, aggression, and his willingness to complete any said objective regardless of the challenge. arturo was a cut above the average military personnel and he was handpicked to be routed for a position in the elite mexican military group called the gafe.

gafe, mexico in english the special forces airmobile group, also known as gaff. gaff formed in 1986, are an elite group of the mexican military, and in the '90s they were specialists in combat with paramilitary forces as well as combating against trafficking groups. despite its operational success, gaff, now known as the special forces corps, has faced criticism for possible abuses during its interventions but it remains one of the most respected and strategic forces for mexico security.

while still a teenager, arturo guzman desena received a myriad of training under the gafe unit including in the areas of counter insurgency, explosives, espionage, torture, jungle and urban warfare, sniper training, heavy weaponry, and even psychological warfare. during his time in gafe unit, it's believed that the gafe also received special training from both US and israeli special forces. at just 18 years old in 1994, arturo guzman would get to put his training to the test when he was deployed in the sierra londo region with the task of annihilating the zapatista army of national liberation and their attempted uprising.
the rebellion was a symbolic uprising rising against poverty and the one party rule of the institutional revolutionary party.

for context, the ezln ideology has been characterized as libertarian socialist, anarchist or marxist, and having roots in liberation theology. all over zapatistas have rejected this political classification. the ezln aligns itself with the wider anti-globalization and anti-neoliberal social movements seeking indigenous control over local resources, especially land.

in january of 1994, an estimated 3,000 armed zapatista insurgents seized six towns and cities in the chiapas highlands and as a result, the gafe unit was sent in to combat the zapatistas. going into battle, arturo was imbued with the mindset that the indigenous people of the region were filthy, lazy, and nothing more than thugs that had to be put down. this level of dehumanization led to horrific crimes against humanity in this brief conflict.

within hours of the gafe unit arriving in the conflict zone, 34 rebels were killed and three others were captured by guzman desena's counterinsurgency group. their bodies were then dumped on the bank of a river, their ears and noses cut off to send a message to the rebels. this type of tactic draws parallels to what we see today from drug cartels.
after a few days, the zapatista attempted uprising was counted effectively by the mexican military, a big part in due to the violent actions of the gafe units.
around this time, despite his young age, guzman desena was made a lieutenant. after the conflict in chiapas, arturo guzman desena took up a role in the federal judicial police who worked closely with the gafe unit to crack down on drug traffickers.

for context, the federal judicial police, also known as the pjf, was the federal police force of mexico until it was shut down in 2002 due to its rampant corruption and criminal activity. at some point during the mid 90s, arturo was sent to the northern state of tamaulipas where he landed the role of head of security in the city of miguel aleman. in this role, he was instructed to crack down on violence committed by trafficking gangs such as the golfo cartel.

around 1997, arturo guzman desena had made contact with the gulf cartel and initially he was paid bribes by the cartel in order for them to be able to move their merchandise through tamaulipas.
so at this point, arturo just appeared to be a corrupt official.. nothing new or nothing special.
at some point in 1997, its believed that arturo guzman decena met a man named zepeda pena qua, aka don ze, who at the time worked for the police and like arturo was taking bribes from the gulf cartel. though don ze was far more involved in organized crime.

in fact, in 1999, two years later, he was appointed as the police chief in miguel aleman and while in this position he used his authority to use military personnel to conduct drug trafficking operations on behalf of cartel del golfo.

it's believed that arturo and don ze struck up a friendship in 1997 and at this point arturo was introduced to osiel cardenas and as they say, the rest is history.
once arturo had met osiel cardenas he abandoned his military position and began to work full time in organized crime. of course, i would say it's safe to assume that arturo's main motive was a bigger paycheck, but possibly that may have not been his only motive.