Los Zetas is the largest drug cartel in Mexico in terms of scale of operations. When Reyna didn't hear from his son for several days, he started making calls. Most harrowing of all was the forensic evidence. Reyna discovered that his son's co-worker and girlfriend were also missing. He also won territory from the Tijuana and Juarez cartels during the Mexican government's war on drugs, which brought new levels of violence to the region (via Britannica). Families across Mexico reported that relatives had disappeared after boarding passenger buses bound for the Texas-Mexico border. US attorney Richard L Durbin Jr told the court in San Antonio, Texas, the killer had acted "without mercy or compunction". As part of the threats, the Vieja Escuela faction has ordered that the relatives of the CDN leadership leave Ciudad Victoria or face a sure death. As the two factions continue their fierce fighting, gunmen from the two groups have taken to social media and banners to deliver threats to each other. This radio communication technology has given them a edge over Mexican law enforcement agencies for years. Jurors broke down in tears when De Leon described a mother and father being pulled by their hair and forced to watch their 6-year-old daughter dismembered alive before they faced the same, brutal death. Initially, the group was led by Osiel Crdenas Guilln, who recruited around 30 alumni from Mexico's special forces. Drug lord Miguel Angel Z-40 Trevino Morales was arrested early in the morning Monday on a country dirt road after a Mexican Marine helicopter intercepted the pickup truck he was riding in. He said that the Zetas commanders ordered the killings because there was a government informant in the group. Today, the cartel retains a small presence in southern Mexico. However, despite the logistical sophistication and the massive financial success, the history of cartels is fraught with betrayal, splinter groups, and brutally shortened lives. It had only been a year since officials in the Mexican city found 72 victims of the Los Zetas drug cartel buried in the dirt. !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Then, on April 21, 2011, police arrested San Fernandos police chief and got a little closer to the truth. We rely on the generosity of our readers who believe that this work is important. Men were beaten, hacked apart, flung from windows, hanged, and decapitated. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless, Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican, A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California, A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho, Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open, Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally, A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano (aka The Executioner) The cartels have now moved beyond drug violence to murdering busloads of civilians, and the government seems incapable of stopping it. According to reports in the BBC and Insight Crime, the latest cartel trend is the fragmentation of the drug trafficking landscape, especially in Mexico. Not only does Los Zetas control key drug smuggling routes into the United States, but it now controls much of the illicit trade of sneaking migrant workers to the US. Who knows what is going on in American Samoa. Border / Cartel ChroniclesBreitbart TexasCartel ChroniclesCartel ViolenceCDNCiudad VictoriaGrupo BravoLos ZetasVieja Escuela. In the 1990s, the aforementioned Cali cartel took the mantle from their Medellin rivals, becoming the most powerful cartel in the world. The 2011 San Fernando Massacre was both disturbing and, tragically, far from a one-off occurrence. The Horrific True Story Of The 2011 San Fernando Massacre. The Shrinking actor talks mental health, being queer, and why the Lone Star State is the perfect home for his new play Silver Foxes. In August 2010, Zetas executed 72 migrants in Tamaulipas, which was followed by 2011 attacks in San Fernando and a Monterrey casino, killing a combined 245 people. More terrifying is their ease of operations in countries like the US. People began to disappear, said San Fernando priest Ramon Ruiz. Specific forms of torture are discussed as well as the most likely victims and perpetrators. Trevino Morales became head of the Los Zetas cartel after the death of long-time leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano in October 2012. The women have been identified as Lourdes Gregorio Garcia Amaya from Texas, Raymunda Amaya Contreras, Maria Del Rosario Carrizales Amaya, Griselda Carrizales Amaya and Maria Cirila Contreras Garcia. Multiple witnesses have testified that Millan-Vasquez controlled the region of Piedras Negras for Los Zetas and is responsible for hundreds of killings and disappearances. In the early 1990s, El Chapo steered the Sinaloa Cartel to dominance through his use of tunnel smuggling and widespread bribes. Graphic from a 2011 NDIC national drug threat assessment. Breitbart Texas has consulted with relatives and friends of the Garcia family who said the Texas family had traveled to Ciudad Victoria with the children for the summer vacation. The gunmen used a large hammer to break down the door before storming the house shooting indiscriminately at the women and children inside. Earlier in life, he was trained in a Mexican Special Forces unit to fight drug-trafficking organizations. Thats bad for the bottom line., Drug cartels have famously eluded capture by the Mexican government as the problem has crossed the border and headed north: 1,000 U.S cities reported the presence of a Mexican cartel in 2010, according to this graphic by the National Post. Picture taken from a TV screen showing Miguel Angel Trevino Morales by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images. Former governor Humberto Moreira was also singled out by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon has having protected Los Zetas in his state. Captured: July 15, 2013 They would rape and kill the women and offer men a macabre choice. While older cartels were more interested in smuggling drugs than anything else, Los Zetas apparently has its sights set on any type of crime that translates into quick and steady cash. Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty ImagesLos Zetas cartel members and San Fernando Massacre suspects being presented to the press on June 30, 2011. Alberto Islas, a Mexico City security analyst whos advised corporations in Tamaulipas, offers a more plausible and chilling motive for the massacres: Its just business. 330 76 comments Best Add a Comment ComfortableSoup5 2 yr. ago With all this being said, the power and brutality of the gang seem to be waning. He said that officers escorted him to remote locations to deliver guns to Millan-Vasquez on more than one occasion. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port, A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador, A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk, The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron, Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. About two dozen have been captured or killed, including some from Los Zetas: Ivan Velazquez Caballero (aka El Taliban) Brutality and inhumanity are the most noticeable traits of drug cartels all over the world, but Los Zetas has taken them to a new high. He made a mistake in his greedbelieving he was invincible and untouchable. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, William R. Long dubbed the Cali cartel as "Colombia's Gentlemen Cocaine Traffickers." When Osiel Cardenas Guillen took over as the leader of the Gulf Cartel, it was in the midst of a violent turf war. The load belonged to De Leon. Led by the infamous Pablo Escobar, the Medellin cartel is said to have killed thousands of people, including three Colombian presidential candidates, many judges and over 1,000 police officers (via Biography). However, PBS wrote that the Cali cartel did not inherit Escobar's public flair for violence, preferring to adopt a business faade in their international operation. Gary Green and Arthur Brown Jr. are set to be killed next week by the State of Texas. WebLos Zetas, originally founded by Mexican special forces deserters, some with US training, started as the enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel, a crime group from northeastern Sadism was their brand. SAN ANTONIO, Texas - In San Antonio today, a federal judge sentenced 34-year-old Marciano Millan Vasquez, a high ranking member and a former sicario for the Los Zetas drug cartel, to seven consecutive life imprisonment sentences for committing and aiding and abetting the commission of numerous murders and other acts of violence, In 2009, the Mexican government identified the countrys 37 most wanted criminals. The way in which the killers carried Then, in December 2009, Arturo Beltrn Leyva was killed by Mexican marines. WebThe Most Brutal Execution Methods Reportedly Used By Mexican Cartels Beheading By Chainsaw. Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberments and other gory executions. A red Blackberry phone belonging to De Leon was examined by computer forensics experts with Homeland Security Investigations. You can contact her at [emailprotected]. Information obtained from authorities points to the victims being at the wrong place at the wrong time. A rival of the Sinaloa cartel, the Juarez group has been responsible for thousands of murders across its territory, which included 21 states at the height of its power. Some had been killed by sledgehammer. De Leon said that his two superiors were let go after they paid, but that he didn't have the $100,000 the cartel needed. This savagery is nothing new. De Leon said that he helped Los Zetas stash drugs, transport firearms and deliver marijuana to drug mules along the river to be smuggled to the U.S. There have been several arrests of purported Zeta members in the region but no trials. Tamaulipas Lieutenant Governor Morelos Jaime Canseco Gmez admitted police were still looking for another bus of passengers. In April 2015, the group killed 15 police officers just weeks after killing five federal officers, which involved the use ofmachine guns and grenade launchers. Among these provincial traders and smugglers wasJoaqun Guzmn Loera, better known as "El Chapo.". The two men who were also gunned down have been identified as Cruz Felipe Pizana Saldivar and Angel Carrizales Amaya. They were forcibly recruited and haven't been paid or fed by their bosses. During a particularly emotional testimony on Wednesday, a former worker for Los Zetas said that he was kidnapped twice by the cartel and was forced to witness several violent acts. Outlets must also tag the Observer in all social media posts. They were the victims of a brutal new evolution in Mexican cartel violence. From the mid-1980s to his death in 1993, Pablo Escobar was the "King of Cocaine," earning an estimated $420 million a week, according to Insider. [CDATA[ He was told to contact someone in Los Zetas to see if they had information. The gunmen injured 4 others in the attack. They also acted as lookouts for the cartel and turned a blind eye to their illegal activities. An armored police vehicle carrying Los Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel in June 2011. [3] By the end of 2011, Los Zetas had eclipsed the Sinaloa Cartel as the largest operating in Mexico by virtue of their geographic presence. WebLos Zetas have also carried out multiple massacres and attacks on civilians and rival cartels, such as: the 2010 San Fernando massacre (24 August), where 72 migrants were found The Mexican military has been trying unsuccessfully for years to dismantle an extensive network of radio antennas built and operated by the Los Zetas drug cartel. Rival gang MS-13 may have the most terrifying tattoos (see featured image), but Los Zetas wins the prize for violence. Los Zetas was described by the US government in 2009 as "the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico". However, despite its success in cocaine and methamphetamine, La Familia Michoacana's power was curtailed by yet another splinter group, The Knights Templar. Initially formed by about 30 former members of an elite Mexican army unit, the gang used fear and intimidation to conduct business in defiance of government operations. Their wanton murders leave most civilians in silence. "[The government] told me not to go asking questions about my son. Upon his release, he was put in charge of the cartel in Nuevo Laredo but then relocated to Zacatecas and rose through the ranks of Los Zetas. Favors were done under threat of death, while higher-ranking officials were paid off. Read more about illegal drugs and those who deal in them on 10 Atrocities Committed By Mexican Drug Cartels and 15 Notable Drug Traffickers. A significant part of this bloodshed is caused by the Tijuana cartel, which is in constant conflict with the Sinaloa cartel. In June 2021, The Independent reportedinfighting between Gulf factions the Metros, the Scorpions and the Cyclonesresulted in 19 deaths, 15 of them innocent civilians. Then, in May, SinEmbargo reported that the cartel had destroyed a military helicopter with an RPG, killing 5 soldiers. Navarro from Ciudad Victoria. Rather than prioritizing corruption like its competitors, Los Zetas has [4] The cartel recruits in US prisons and also courts street gang members for its drug trafficking activities in Mexico and the U.S. With the Los Zetas fighting the Gulf Cartel for control of human trafficking networks, police corruption was no surprise. What should we expect from a heartless criminal organization put together by ex-military men? Web270p Video: Notorious Mexican Los Zetas cartel boss, Moises Escamilla May, 45, who was jailed for a string of ruthless beheadings, dies in jail from coronavirus Jalisco Cartel At one of the gory murders the horrific slaughter of a young girl he reportedly told her father the crime was "so you can remember me", before ordering the murder of both parents. The LA Times found that from January 1988 to November 1991, drug traffickers killed up to 219 people in this area, disposing of their bodies in rivers. Former Zetas members testified Tuesday, claiming the cartel is responsible for a bloody massacre in Piedras Negras in 2011. The cartels brutal murders came to a head under the leadership of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales. With countless reports emerging of mayors and cops across Mexico collaborating with the cartels, it appears tragically unsurprising that many who knew the truth were either put into hiding or killed to keep them quiet. The rest of the video is a gruesome 40 seconds of cold-blooded murder, which caused international controversy recently when it was posted on Facebook. WebCIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamaulipas -- Gunmen with the Los Zetas cartel butchered close to 20 victims over the weekend, three of those victims were Texas residents who had been On Tuesday, Rodriguez testified about a bloody massacre involving more than 300 people. This time around, the horrific body count eclipsed all expectations with 193 people rotting in 47 mass graves. With their archenemy established, La Familia Michoacana set out to publicize themselves. Marciano Millan-Vasquez, who was a member of the 'Los Zetas' organised crime gang, "brutally murdered anyone and everyone as it suited him and his cartel", the prosecuting lawyer said. There have been several criminal organizations in the world that have perpetrated destructive acts against humanity without any form of military training, either formal or informal. FROM brutal beheadings to violent kidnappings, the cartel wars of Cancun have unleashed horror on Mexico's Caribbean coast as gangsters wreak havoc yards away from luxury resorts. If their relatives do not pay for their release, they may be killed and dumped into mass graves. All of the Texas Observers articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. WebSoon after the murder, Guzman became known as Z-1, and would become the founder of Los Zetas, literally The Zs: an organization that began as an elite security detail and would evolve across 12 years to become one of Mexicos most powerful criminal organizations. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. [8] Los Zetas has been linked to several other mass murders in Mexico. The eventual split between the groups was described by theCongressional Research Serviceas"most violent in the history of organized crime in Mexico. Britannicawriter Richard J. Samuels defines cartels as, "An illicit consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition and control the production and distribution of illegal drugs," adding that cartels are, "extremely well-organized, well-financed, efficient, and ruthless." In 2015, U.S. law enforcement discovered a marijuana field in Texas with a market value of $2 million. Since 2011, there have been numerous scandals exposing the collusion between politicians and drug cartels. He frequently supervised killing experiments wherein new recruits were ordered to kill people with a machete or sledgehammer. After learning about the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, take a look at 33 photos of the Mexican drug war. The two claimed credible fear, telling agents that they feared for their lives if they were to stay in Mexico. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican, A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. It was one of the deadliest attacks ever on Mexican Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty ImagesSan Fernando woman Alma Miriam Ruiz holding a photo of her daughter Dalia missing since 2010. As La Familia Michoacana expelled Los Zetas, they took territory across Guerrero, Morelos, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Jalisco and Mexico City. Instead, they became the drug cartel they were supposed to fight. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Escobar's luck ran out on December 2, 1993, when he was gunned down as part of a joint U.S.-Colombia effort. Velazquez started out stealing cars in his hometown of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and was jailed there. Los Zetas control a wide swathe of territory ranging from the Texas border to Guatemala. Yet the Cali cartel was still a powerful drug cartel that used violence if it had to, especially during its conflict with the Medellin cartel, which took many lives on both sides. Aside from manufacturing illegal drugs and trafficking them, the gang is also into kidnapping and extortion. Jeffrey Morris is a researcher and freelance writer with a passion for history and rarities. The last time Reyna saw his son was Sept. 11, 2011. Whats distressing about the criminal organization is the atrocities they have committed in the past and the potential they possess to increase their scale of operations and perpetuate more horrors in the future. [7] As usual, theyve also brought an unprecedented level of violence to the trade. Los Zetas is a powerful Mexican drug cartel that has made special use of fear to achieve its business goals. Rogue policemen are believed to have played a role in the deaths of 193 people, whose bodies were found in hidden graves in San Fernando in 2011, and 49 in Cadereyta in the state of Nuevo Leon in 2012. He also forced captured Mexican migrants into gladiatorial fights to the death. The witness said that the commanders kidnapped him and his two superiors until they paid what they owed for the seized load of marijuana. The handful of passengers lucky enough to be rescued confirmed their captors intended to recruit them. Mexicos National Human Rights Commission estimated that 20,000 migrants were abducted in 2010, alone. These types of brutal dealings by Los Zetas originally a bodyguard group for another cartel upset the status quo. Tomas Yarrington, former governor of Tamaulipas, is currently facing multiple drug trafficking and money laundering charges in the United States. She was known for being the crazy white one. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin, Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. First it was people with money, then it was anyone. The women have been identified as Lourdes Gregorio Garcia Amaya from Texas, Raymunda Amaya Contreras, Maria Del Rosario Carrizales Amaya. As the two factions continue their fierce fighting, gunmen from the two groups have taken to social media and banners to deliver threats to each other. Media speculation on the motives for the kidnappings range from the cartels need for new recruits to fight its turf battles to the notion that passengers are being extorted for money. By that point, however, more bodies had surfaced. However, despite these smaller groups' threat to the Guerrero and Morelosstates, the Beltrn-Leyva Organization is merely a trace of its former self. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. CIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamaulipas Gunmen with the Los Zetas cartel butchered close to 20 victims over the weekend, three of those victims were Texas residents who had been visiting relatives. This gang violence occurs in their stronghold of Ciudad Jurez, where 1,200 people were murdered in 2018. Led by the Beltran Leyva brothers Marcos Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo, and Hctor, the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO)was a vicious drug cartel in the Mexican state of Sinaloa (via Insight Crime/Wilson Center). The heartless drug lord is claimed to have personally killed 2,000 people, in addition to ordering and supervising thousands of other murders. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. The cartel can trace its roots to the 1960s and '70s, when farming families entered the marijuana business. Like Los Zetas, their bitter rivals, CJNG is known for terrible violence. Authorities expect more violence to ensue in the coming days. De Leon is now cooperating with authorities. As the cartel made connections across Mexico and the world, their death toll increased exponentially. WebThe Los Zetas used improvised weapons like knives, rocks, and burning mattresses. Rather than prioritizing corruption like its competitors, Los Zetas has preferred to use paramilitary violence to seize territory and intimidate rivals, according toInsight Crime. Victims were piled on top of one another haphazardly before the cartel used a backhoe to cover up their resting place. The find is indicative of cartel operations in Texas and the United States as a whole. In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. The largest two graves were 10 feet deep and each held around 45 corpses. In August 2010, the gang massacred 72 kidnapped migrants at a remote ranch in On Aug. 24, 2010, however, Mexican Armed Forces unearthed the bodies of 72 undocumented immigrants who were simply executed. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. Originally a security detail for the Sinaloa cartel, BLO seceded in 2008 and a fierce conflict ensued. Consequently, several Mexican cities such as Los Cabos, Tijuana, and Acapulco have recorded some of the highest murder rates in the world, according toStatista. Founded by the Orejuela brothers, the Cali cartel earned billions a year, inheriting the Medellin cartel's 80% market share and multi-ton shipments to the United States (via Seattle Times/Insider). Besides drug smuggling, the cartel is involved in every facet of trade in its territory including human trafficking. Moraless most preferred method of killing was to stuff victims in oil barrels and set them ablaze. Then, learn about the Mexican boys forced to eat human flesh as a cartel initiation. Most are extorted and let go or sold into prostitution. The first one they asked, he didn't want to work, and [cartel members] said, that's fine. He turned around, and they shot him in the head. In August 2010, the gang massacred 72 kidnapped migrants at a remote ranch in Northeastern Mexico after they refused to pay a ransom for their release or take jobs as hit men. Cartel: Los Zetas Several other executions and attacks during the weekend brought the total number of casualties to 19 and close to 24 wounded by gunfire. The kidnapping and murder of the SEIDO agents resembles the type of actions of another infamous Mexican crime group, the Zetas. It operates in more than half of the countrys 32 states. During the trial, witnesses said he had hacked apart his victims with an axe and burned their bodies in barrels, according to the San Antonio Express-News. However, in the late 1990s/early 2000s, a set of El Milenio lieutenants rebelled and created their own cartel. At least two jurors broke down in tears as they listened to Jorge De Leon Navarro describe how Los Zetas killed their prisoners. There were only a few bullet casings at the scene, but one sledgehammer and bodies showing blunt trauma to the head. (Watch our piece Mexican Marines Kill Drug Lord Known as The Executioner.). WebMarciano 'Chano' Millan Vasquez, 34, was jailed in San Antonio, Texas, for 29 killings carried out for notorious northern Mexican gang Los Zetas between 2009 and 2015, as well as Melissa del Bosque joined the Texas Observer staff in 2008. He created a company, Tremor Enterprises, to purchase racehorses for American contests, winning millions in prize money through fixing races and doping horses. Known for his brutality, one technique he allegedly favored was the guiso, or stew, in which enemies would be placed in 55-gallon drums and burned alive. The gunmen murdered a young girl by the name of Estefania Martinez Diaz, a woman by the name of Mara Campillo Mata and a man by the name of Miguel Angel Mendoza. Los Zetas operates in 17 states, while Sinaloa operates in 16 states. Los Zetas is a criminal gang that manufactures and smuggles illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana, among others. A former Mexican drug cartel kingpin who dismembered a six-year-old girl with an axe in front of her parents has been sentenced to seven consecutive life terms in a US prison. Only in 2014 was this dynamic officially exposed in a memo from the Mexico Attorney Generals Office on the 2010 San Fernando Massacre, the 2011 San Fernando Massacre, and the recovery of 49 human torsos in 2012. The 2010 San Fernando Massacre bore similarities to the June 2011 confession of Zetas member dgar Huerta Montiel. You cannot underestimate the capabilities of a cartel whose founding fathers were trained by the U.S. military. In 2014, years after the conviction of the Orejuela brothers, the US government declared that the Cali cartel was no longer a threat, lifting sanctions that had been imposed by the Clinton administration in 1995 (via ABC news/Insight Crime). In the same month, heavily armed gunmen fired upon Omar Garcia Harfuch, Mexico City's public security secretary, injuring him and killing two bodyguards and a passerby (via Insight Crime). Partners must notify. The Gulf cartel is among the oldest cartels in Mexico and has held varying degrees of power since its origins in 1984, according toInsightCrime. WebOn behalf of Los Zetas." Put in pairs and given sledgehammers, they were forced to fight each other. In August 2010, the Mexican military stumbled upon the bodies of 72 people bound and executed. Not only are groups like Los Zetas interested in influencing politics, but Mexican politicians are equally interested in the dividends of the drug trade. The fact that Los Zetas was able to grow and nurture $2 million worth of marijuana in Texas is quite distressing. Violent drug gangs are waging a bloody war in the tourist haven of Quintana Roo - visited by millions of British and American holidaymakers each year.