U.S. law enforcement have reported bounties offered by Los Zetas of between $30,000 and $50,000 for the killing of Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement officers," the bulletin said. "If a Zeta kills an American law enforcement officer and can successfully make it back to Mexico, his stature within the organization will be increased dramatically."

The words betray themselves when they speak of "bounties offered BY Los Zetas." The author (Corchado) doesn't understand his own beat. The Zetas, his own newspaper has reported, are guns for hire to the highest bidder. They are part of the "service industry" of the drug war. They are freelance, not belonging to any particular smuggling faction. (Frankly, they would work for either government if paid more, or if offered official immunity and protection, just like the "house of death" assassin-informant, to do so... watch out, because if past is prologue that is what is coming next.)

Therefore, a claim that the Zetas offer bounties for anything is not credible. These guys are bounty hunters, not bounty offerers.

Of course, there are gossipy law enforcement agents to make that kind of shit up to make themselves seem more courageous. It's a great line for an officer trying to get laid in a bar. "Hey gorgeous! There's a bounty of $30,000 on my life! Come to my hotel room tonight because tomorrow I may die!" I'm sure it works splendidly with a certain kind of paramour. But it's total bullshit in the context of how an organization like the Zetas really works. It's just a self-promoting fantasy that a lazy reporter published as "fact."