National Post

Zetas drug cartel targets Mexican social networks with execution
On Saturday, the body of Marisol Macias Castaneda, newsroom manager for a local newspaper in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Mex., was found in a park.

The 39-year-old, who frequently contributed to local social networking sites under the nickname “Laredo Girl,” had been battered, butchered and decapitated.

Her head was placed on a nearby decorative cement pillar next to a hand-written poster as a warning to others who dare to discuss the crimes of the drug cartels online.

“Nuevo Laredo Live and [other] social networking sites, I’m the ‘Laredo Girl’ and I’m here because of my reports, and yours,” it said.

“For those who don’t want to believe, this happened to me because of my actions, for believing in the army and the navy.”

It was signed: “Thank you for your attention, respectfully, Laredo Girl … ZZZZ.”

The Zs are a signature of the dreaded Zetas drug cartel, a gang founded by military deserters who have become infamous for mass murders and gruesome executions.