WITH TEMPTING DASH NOW A CHAMPION AND UNDER HIS BROTHER’S CONTROL, Miguel’s plan was flourishing. He called a meeting at one of his ranches in the city of Piedras Negras in Coahuila, another border state not far from Nuevo Laredo, to discuss his plan’s next phase. Some of the most lucrative purses in quarter horse racing, including the All American Futurity, were just a few months away.
In Mexico, the war was intensifying. The Gulf Cartel had joined forces with the Sinaloa Cartel, their former competitor, to wipe out their greater enemy, escalating the war with a ferocious intensity. For Mexico’s drug bosses, the Zetas’ rapid rise to dominance had been as unexpected as their increasingly bold ambushes deep inside El Chapo’s territory.
In Nuevo Laredo, convoys of SUVs bristling with heavily armed men in tactical gear, their back windows emblazoned with the logo CDG, for Cártel del Golfo, or Gulf Cartel, snaked through the narrow boulevards searching for Zetas to kill.
But Treviño and Lazcano had already secured the neighboring border state of Coahuila as a safe haven where they could operate freely with the protection of the police. This would be Miguel’s new home base, where he could conduct his business. He summoned to his ranch the handful of men who would be crucial in building his American racing dynasty. Francisco Colorado Cessa, whom everyone called “Pancho,” flew in from Veracruz on his private plane along with Alejandro Barradas. Colorado owned ADT Petroservicios, an oil services company in Tuxpan, and had become wealthy off its lucrative contracts with Pemex, the national oil company. He was also a longtime gambler and horse-racing aficionado. Barradas, the owner of Grupo Aduanero Integral in the city of Veracruz, had been, like Colorado, involved in horse racing for years, often mixing with the Zetas and other cartels that would organize the races.
Besides Miguel and Omar waiting for them at the ranch, there was also Enrique Rejón Aguilar, or Z-7—whom everyone called “Mamito.” His relationship with the Treviños had been a complicated one ever since Lazcano had made Miguel his second in command. Mamito was a former soldier and an original founding member of the Zetas. But the Treviños had valuable smuggling contacts on the border, and Miguel had made the Zetas a significant amount of money. He was also just as willing to kill a friend as an enemy, which was why many believed Lazcano kept him close. Miguel’s rapid rise also rankled Mamito because he was from the streets, not military-trained.
And even worse, Miguel had taken Tempting Dash from him. Mamito was obsessed with racing, and it was nearly all he talked about to the others. Owning the best bloodlines was a sign of status. And it was Mamito who had originally requested that Ramiro Villarreal buy him Tempting Dash in California. The colt was the progeny of First Down Dash, one of the most coveted racing sires in the United States. The asking price of $21,500 was a bargain for such a prized bloodline. But shortly before the auction, Miguel had demanded that Villarreal buy the horse for him. And Mamito had had no choice but to comply since Miguel was now his superior.
Rounding out the meeting was one more key figure who would be important to the success of Miguel’s plan. Mario Alfonso Cuellar, also called “Poncho,” was one of Miguel’s key money men, responsible for shipping tons of cocaine across the border every year. From Piedras Negras, Cuellar made sure the cocaine got to the Zetas’ wholesale dealers in the United States. Then he collected the U.S. dollars sent back in false compartments in trucks or smuggled by couriers across the river. Altogether, he collected about $20 million a month.
The meeting would be an all-day affair. Colorado, a bon vivant, cooked up some shrimp he’d brought from Veracruz.
“Don’t tell me you know how to cook too?” joked Omar.
“Of course,” Colorado said.
Cuellar and Barradas shot games of pool while Miguel, Omar, Mamito, and Nayen watched a live simulcast on Miguel’s computer of one of his horses racing in California.
After the race, Miguel laid out his reasons for the meeting. He had a plan for expanding his empire north of the border. What he needed were successful businessmen who could spend millions in the United States without raising suspicion with authorities. Colorado had sizable bank accounts in the United States and often did business there. Barradas with his customs agency also frequently wired cash to the States. It wouldn’t be unusual for two wealthy men, who were passionate about racing, to spend a significant amount of money on horses in the United States.
Colorado and Barradas were so intertwined with the Zetas already, it would be difficult to say no. Like Coahuila, their state of Veracruz was under the control of Miguel Treviño and the cartel. The former leader in Veracruz, Efraín Torres, or Z-14, had given Colorado at least $6 million to start his oil services business ADT Petroservicios. Colorado had also served as a go-between during the 2004 gubernatorial election in Veracruz, passing on several million to the PRI candidate, Fidel Herrera, from Z-14 and the Zetas. Herrera had won the election. Afterward, the new governor had made sure that ADT Petroservicios received prime contracts from the government-run Pemex, which had made Colorado a wealthy man (Herrera has denied allegations he collaborated with the Zetas). But Colorado also had expensive tastes and Pemex was notorious for being slow to pay its vendors. Desperate to keep his business afloat during dry times, Colorado had borrowed from Miguel, who always had several million in cash on hand and seldom charged him interest. But Colorado had been around long enough to know that any loan from Miguel wouldn’t come without its price. Currently he owed Miguel $2 million. And it was never good to be in the drug boss’s debt for very long.
So Colorado was quickly amenable to the plan. “¿Somos o no somos amigos?” he said to Miguel. “Are we or are we not friends?” Barradas didn’t hesitate either. Since Cuellar handled the drug proceeds coming through Piedras Negras, he would ensure they got the money to purchase the racehorses. It would be up to Barradas and Colorado to absorb the drug profits into their business accounts, then use the cleaned-up money to pay for the horses and their expenses in the States. In this way, they would help Miguel’s brother José expand his newly formed racing company, Tremor Enterprises.
But first Colorado knew he needed to pay the debt he already owed. After he returned to Veracruz he called Nayen. The twenty-five-year-old Nayen considered Colorado a father figure, often referring to him affectionately as padrino. He had been buying valuable racehorses for the wealthy rancher and arranging races for him since he was a teenager. Now he had moved on to managing Miguel’s horses. “I’m ready . . . I have the money to pay my debt,” Colorado told him. Nayen said he would speak to Miguel, then let Colorado know his answer.
A few minutes later, Nayen phoned with Miguel’s somewhat cryptic response. “He says to be ready. He’ll tell you when and how he wants you to pay your debt.”