Omar Lorméndez Pitalúa

Omar Lorméndez Pitalúa (born 18 January 1972) is a Mexican suspected drug lord and high-ranking member of Los Zetas, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas, Mexico. He joined the Mexican Army in 1991 and deserted in 1999. He then joined the Gulf Cartel under kingpin Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, becoming one of the first members of its newly formed paramilitary wing, Los Zetas. Like Lorméndez Pitalúa, most of the original members of Los Zetas were ex-military. Los Zetas was responsible for providing security services to Cárdenas Guillén and carrying out executions on the cartel's behalf. In 2001, Lorméndez Pitalúa worked on assignments for Los Zetas and was responsible for ensuring that smugglers paid taxes to the Gulf Cartel and operated under their supervision in Matamoros.

Lorméndez Pitalúa was then transferred to Nuevo Laredo, where he commanded Zetas' forces against affiliates of the rival Sinaloa Cartel. In 2003, he was sent to Michoacán and formed an alliance with La Familia Michoacana to gain control of the territory controlled by the Milenio Cartel. He had the support of local authorities who helped to facilitate the Zetas' operations in exchange for bribery payments. In 2005, Lorméndez Pitalúa was arrested in Michoacán and imprisoned in a maximum-security facility. Released in 2013, he resumed his organized crime activities and joined the faction Zetas Vieja Escuela.

Early life and background Omar Lorméndez Pitalúa was born on 18 January 1972 in Tultitlán, State of Mexico, Mexico.