title: Superman (1978 film)

text: In each of the three acts, the mythic status of Superman is enhanced by events that recall the hero's journey (or monomyth) as described by Joseph Campbell. Each act has a discernible cycle of "call" and journey. The journey is from Krypton to Earth in the first act, from Smallville to the Fortress of Solitude in the second act, and then from Metropolis to the whole world in the third act.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Many have noted the examples of apparent Christian symbolism. Donner, Tom Mankiewicz and Ilya Salkind have commented on the use of Christian references to discuss the themes of "Superman". Mankiewicz deliberately fostered analogies with Jor-El (God) and Kal-El (Jesus). Donner is somewhat skeptical of Mankiewicz's actions, joking "I got enough death threats because of that."


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Several concepts and items of imagery have been used in Biblical comparisons. Jor-El casts out General Zod from Krypton, a parallel to the casting out of Satan from Heaven. The spacecraft that brings Kal-El to Earth is in the form of a star (Star of Bethlehem). Kal-El comes to Jonathan and Martha Kent, who are unable to have children. Martha Kent states, "All these years how we've prayed and prayed that the good Lord would see fit to give us a child", which was compared to the Virgin Mary.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Just as little is known about Jesus during his middle years, Clark travels into the wilderness to find out who he is and what he has to do. Jor-El says, "Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and power are needed. But always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, and they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you, my only son." The theme resembles the Biblical account of God sending his only son Jesus to Earth in hope for the good of mankind. More were seen when Donner was able to complete "", featuring the fall, resurrection and his battle with evil. Another vision was that of "The Creation of Adam".


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: The Christian imagery in the Reeve films has provoked comment on the Jewish origins of Superman. Rabbi Simcha Weinstein's book "Up, Up and Oy Vey: How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero", says that Superman is both a pillar of society and one whose cape conceals a "nebbish", saying "He's a bumbling, nebbish Jewish stereotype. He's Woody Allen." Ironically, it is also in the Reeve films that Clark Kent's persona has the greatest resemblance to Woody Allen, though his conscious model was Cary Grant's character in "Bringing Up Baby". This same theme is pursued about 1940s superheroes generally in "Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero" by Danny Fingeroth.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: In the scene where Lois Lane interviews Superman on the balcony, Superman replies, "I never lie." Salkind felt this was an important point in the film, since Superman, living under his secret identity as Clark Kent, is "telling the biggest lie of all time." His romance with Lois also leads him to contradict Jor-El's orders to avoid altering human history, time traveling to save her from dying. Superman instead takes the advice of Jonathan Kent, his father on Earth.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: "Superman" was originally scheduled to be released in June 1978, the 40th anniversary of "Action Comics 1", which first introduced Superman, but the problems during filming pushed the film back by six months. Editor Stuart Baird reflected, "Filming was finished in October 1978 and it is a miracle we had the film released two months later. Big-budgeted films today tend to take six to eight months." Donner, for his part, wished that he had "had another six months; I would have perfected a lot of things. But at some point, you've gotta turn the picture over."


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Warner Bros. Pictures spent $6–7 million on marketing the film. "Superman" premiered at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C. on December 10, 1978, with director Richard Donner and several cast members in attendance. Three days later, on December 13, it had a European Royal Charity Premiere at the Empire, Leicester Square in London in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: The film set a new all-time U.S. industry record for business during a pre-Christmas week with $12 million, and set new records for Warner Bros. for their best opening day ($2.8 million) and three-day weekend ($7.5 million). In the week of December 22–28, it set an all-time U.S. weekly record of $18.5 million. It also set a record single day gross for Warner Bros. with a gross of $3.8 million. In its third weekend it grossed $13.1 million for the four day holiday weekend setting a record 18 day gross of $43.7 million.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Including re-releases, it went on to gross $134.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $166 million internationally, totaling $300.5 million worldwide. "Superman" was the highest-grossing film of 1978 in North America, and became the sixth-highest-grossing film of all time after its theatrical run. It was also Warner Bros.'s most successful film at the time.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: According to Rotten Tomatoes, of critics gave "Superman" a positive review, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, ""Superman" deftly blends humor and gravitas, taking advantage of the perfectly cast Reeve to craft a loving, nostalgic tribute to an American pop culture icon." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The film was widely regarded as one of top 10 films of 1978. "Superman" creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster gave a positive reaction. Shuster was "delighted to see Superman on the screen. I got chills. Chris Reeve has just the right touch of humor. He really is Superman."


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars. Although describing the Krypton scenes as "ponderous" ("Brando was allegedly paid $3 million for his role, or, judging by his dialogue, $500,000 a cliché"), Ebert wrote that ""Superman" is a pure delight, a wondrous combination of all the old-fashioned things we never really get tired of: adventure and romance, heroes and villains, earthshaking special effects, and -- you know what else? Wit". He praised Reeve, stating that he "sells the role; wrong casting here would have sunk everything", and concluded that the film "works so well because of its wit and its special effects". Ebert placed the film on his ten best list of 1978. He would later go on to place it on his "Great Movies" list. Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film three stars out of four, calling it "a delightful mess. Good performances. Sloppy editing. Cheap nonflying special effects. Funny dialog. In sum, "Superman" is the kind of picture critics tear apart, but still say, 'You ought to see it.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: James Harwood of "Variety" called the film "a wonderful, chuckling, preposterously exciting fantasy", and further added: "As both the wholesome man of steel and his bumbling secret identity Clark Kent, Reeve is excellent." Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" wrote in a mixed review, "The Superman comic strip has been carefully, elaborately, sometimes wittily blown up for the big-theater screen, which, though busy, often seems sort of empty." Charles Champlin of the "Los Angeles Times" called the film "a big letdown", praising Reeve as "the salvaging strength of the film" but referring to the matter of the villain as "an essential problem", finding that "even in a succession of wigs, Gene Hackman is not preposterous, funny or dementedly menacing, and what he's doing here is not evident." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" wrote in a positive review, "Despite a lull here and a lapse there, this superproduction turns out to be prodigiously inventive and enjoyable, doubly blessed by sophisticated illusionists behind the cameras and a brilliant new stellar personality in front of the cameras—Christopher Reeve, a young actor at once handsome and astute enough to rationalize the preposterous fancy of a comic-book superhero in the flesh."


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Writing in a retrospective review, James Berardinelli believed "there's no doubt that it's a flawed movie, but it's one of the most wonderfully entertaining flawed movies made during the 1970s. It's exactly what comic book fans hoped it would be. Perhaps most heartening of all, however, is the message at the end of the credits announcing the impending arrival of "Superman II"." Harry Knowles is a longtime fan of the film, but was critical of elements that did not represent the Superman stories as seen in the comics. Neal Gabler similarly felt that the film focused too much on shallow comedy. He also argued that the film should have adhered more to the spirit of Mario Puzo's original script, and referred to the first three Superman films collectively as "simply puffed-up TV episodes."


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: "Superman" was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Film Editing (Stuart Baird), Best Original Score (John Williams) and Best Sound (Gordon K. McCallum, Graham V. Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier and Roy Charman) and received a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects. Donner publicly expressed disgust that production designer John Barry and cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth had not been recognized by the Academy.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: "Superman" was also successful at the 32nd British Academy Film Awards. Reeve won Best Newcomer, while Hackman, Unsworth, Barry, and the sound designers earned nominations. The film won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. At the Saturn Awards, Kidder, Barry, John Williams, and the visual effects department received awards, and the film won Best Science Fiction Film. Reeve, Hackman, Donner, Valerie Perrine, and costume designer Yvonne Blake were nominated for their work as well. In addition, Williams was nominated at the 36th Golden Globe Awards and won the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: While, by contract, Richard Donner had major editorial control over what was theatrically released, the Salkinds had editorial control on what was shown outside of theaters. This was the result of deals that had been made between the producers and the ABC television network prior to the film's release. Financially, the more footage that was restored for television, the more revenue that could be made for the broadcast (the producers charged by the minute for every bit of footage added back in). During production of the film, Alexander and Ilya Salkind had been relegated to having to sell more and more of their rights back to Warner Bros. in exchange for financial help, which is why Warner Bros. would have theatrical and home video distribution rights. So by 1981, when the television rights reverted to the Salkinds, the producers had already prepared a 3-hour-and-8-minute version that actually had been the first version of the film visually locked down prior to being re-edited for theatrical release. This extended cut, which would be utilized for worldwide television distribution, reincorporated some 45 minutes of footage and music deleted from the theatrical cut. Networks and stations could then re-edit their own version at their discretion. This edit is commonly known as the "Salkind International Television Cut".


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: ABC aired the broadcast television debut of "Superman" over two nights in February 1982, with a majority of the unused footage. The 182-minute network cut (which was slightly cut down for content) was repeated in November of that same year, this time in its entirety in one evening. The remaining two ABC broadcasts were presented in its original theatrical version.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: When the TV rights reverted to Warner Bros. in 1985, CBS aired the film one last time on network television in its theatrical version. When the movie entered the syndication market in 1988 (following a play-out run on pay cable) TV stations were offered the extended cut or the theatrical cut. The stations that showed the extended cut edited the second half to add more advertising time and "previously on..." cutback scenes just as ABC had done in 1982.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: In 1994 (following a pay-cable reissue and its obligatory run on USA Network), Warner Bros. Television syndicated the full 188-minute international television version, most famously on Los Angeles station KCOP. The most notable additions unseen on U.S. television were two additional scenes never seen before, in addition to what had been previously reinstated. This version also surfaced outside of Los Angeles. For example, WJLA Channel 7, an ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C., aired the extended cut in July 1994. Because its first known airing was on the aforementioned KCOP, it is also known in fan circles as the "KCOP Version".


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: There were various extended TV versions each broadcast in various countries. Most of these are in pan and scan, as they were made in the 1980s, when films were not letterboxed to preserve the theatrical aspect ratio on old TVs.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Until 2017, it was thought the quality of the extended network TV version was inferior to any theatrical or previous home video release because it was mastered in 16mm (using the "film chain system") and a mono sound mix done, as by the time the extended cut was prepared in 1981, stereo was not available in television broadcasts (16 mm television prints were, in fact, made and mastered on NTSC Standard Definition video for the initial ABC network broadcasts). However, during an inventory of the Warner Bros. library, an IP master of the full 188-minute television version was discovered. This eighteen-reel master was not marked with an aspect ratio, but the print was inspected and, as it turned out, was in the proper 2.35:1 Panavision ratio. This was the source of the Warner Archive Collection Blu-Ray release of what would officially be called the "Superman: The Movie Extended Cut", issued on October 3, 2017. The video release was visually restored by WB's imaging department, and, other than the opening and end credits (which are in true stereo), the film is presented in an enhanced version of the mono TV sound mix. This particular release also includes another version discussed below.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Richard Donner was critical of this extended cut of the film. He called this version of the film "terrible," saying it "was nothing more than an assembly." He said he cut the bad material out of the movie and that the producers and Warner Bros. added it back in just "to make a buck."


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: When Michael Thau and Warner Home Video started working on a film restoration in 2000, only eight minutes of the added footage that had been used in the TV cut could be considered restored into a version that director Richard Donner called his preferred version of the film. Thau determined that some of the extra footage could not be added because of poor visual effects. Thau felt "the pace of the film's storyline would be adversely affected [and there were] timing problems matching [footage] with John Williams' musical score, etc… The cut of the movie shown on KCOP was put together to make the movie longer when shown on TV as the Television Station paid per minute to air the movie. The "Special Edition" cut is designed for the best viewing experience in the true spirit of movie making." There was a special test screening of the Special Edition in 2001 in Austin, Texas, on March 23 with plans for a possible wider theatrical release later that year, which did not occur. In May 2001, Warner Home Video released the special edition on DVD. Director Donner also assisted, working slightly over a year on the project. The release included making-of documentaries directed by Thau and eight minutes of restored footage.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Thau explained, "I worked on "Ladyhawke" and that's how I really met Dick [Donner] and Tom Mankiewicz. I used to hear those wonderful stories in the cutting room that Tom and Dick and Stuart would tell about "Superman" and that's how I kind of got the ideas for the plots of 'Taking Flight' and 'Making Superman'". Donner commented, "There are a few shots where Chris [Reeve]'s costume looked green. We went in and cleaned that up, bringing the color back to where it should be." Thau wanted to make the film shorter: "I wanted to take out the damn poem where Lois is reciting a poem ("Can You Read My Mind") when they're flying around. I also wanted to take out a lot of that car chase where it was just generic action... It was like a two-minute car chase. But Dick didn't want to take [that] out [or] the poem." It was followed by a box set release in the same month, containing "bare bones" editions of "Superman II", "Superman III", and "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace". In November 2006, a four-disc special edition was released, followed by an HD DVD release and Blu-ray. Also available (with other films) is the nine-disc "Christopher Reeve Superman Collection" and the 14-disc "Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition".


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: On November 6, 2018 (following year-long worldwide revival theatrical screenings to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the film's original release), Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released an Ultra HD Blu-ray of "Superman" presented in a new Dolby Vision transfer of the original theatrical version straight from the original camera negative, with its original 70mm/six-track stereo mix rendered in 5.1 surround, in addition to the 2000 remix in Dolby Atmos. This new release also includes a standard Blu-Ray of the theatrical cut, plus select bonus features carried over from previous video releases, and digital copies of both the theatrical and three-hour TV versions.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: In 2007, the Visual Effects Society listed "Superman" as the 44th-most influential use of visual effects of all time. In 2008, "Empire" magazine named it the 174th-greatest film of all time on its list of 500. In 2009, "Entertainment Weekly" ranked Superman 3rd on their list of "The All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture".


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: With the film's success, it was immediately decided to finish "Superman II". Ilya and Alexander Salkind and Pierre Spengler did not ask Donner to return because Donner had criticized them during the film's publicity phase. Donner commented in January 1979, "I'd work with Spengler again, but only on my terms. As long as he has nothing to say as the producer, and is just liaison between Alexander Salkind and his money, that's fine. If they don't want it on those terms, then they need to go out and find another director, it sure as shit ain't gonna be me." Kidder, who portrayed Lois Lane, was dissatisfied by the producers' decision, and also criticized the Salkinds during publicity. Kidder said that as a result, she was only given a cameo appearance for "Superman III", and not a main supporting role. Jack O'Halloran, who portrayed Non, stated, "It was great to work with Donner. Richard Lester was as big an asshole as the Salkinds." Two more films, "Superman III" (1983) and "" (1987), were produced. Donner's vision for "Superman II" was eventually realized nearly three decades later, when he supervised the editing of "", which was released in 2006. In the same year, Donner and writer Geoff Johns wrote "Last Son", a comic book story arc in Action Comics featuring Superman. Unused footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El, discovered during the restoration of "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut", was used in "Superman Returns" (2006).


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: Because "Superman" went into production prior to the releases of "Star Wars" (May 1977) and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (November 1977), some observers credit the three films collectively for launching the reemergence of a large market for science fiction films


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: in the 1980s. This is certainly the view of "Superman" producer Ilya Salkind and some who have interviewed him, as well as of film production assistant Brad Lohan. Other observers of film history tend to credit the resurgence of science fiction films simply to the Lucas and Spielberg productions, and see "Superman" as the first of the new cycle of films launched by the first two. Ilya Salkind denies any connection between "Superman"—which began filming in March 1977—and the other films, stating that "I did not know about '"Star Wars"'; '"Star Wars"' did not know about '"Superman"'; '"Close Encounters"' did not know about "'Superman".' It really was completely independent—nobody knew anything about anybody." "Superman" also established the superhero film genre as viable outside the production of low-budget Saturday matinee serials. Director Christopher Nolan cited Richard Donner's vision and scope of "Superman" when pitching the concept for "Batman Begins" to Warner Bros. in 2002.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: In 2021, DC Comics revived the continuity of the 1978 film with their "Superman '78" comic book series, emulating the look of the Christopher Reeve films. The series picks up where the first two films left off, thereby acting as a direct sequel.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: The film inspired The Kinks' 1979 song "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman", when the band's main songwriter, Ray Davies, watched the film in late 1978.


title: Superman (1978 film)

text: In December 2017, the film was selected for preservation by the United States Library of Congress National Film Registry, for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".


title: Will.i.am

text: William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.


title: Will.i.am

text: As a solo artist, will.i.am has released four albums, beginning with "Lost Change" (2001), through Atlantic Records. His second solo outing, "Must B 21", was released on September 23, 2003. The track "Go!" was regularly used as the theme for the "NBA Live 2005" and "Madden NFL 2005" seasons. The third album, "Songs About Girls", was released on September 25, 2007. He released his fourth studio album, "#willpower", in 2013.


title: Will.i.am

text: As a music producer, will.i.am has worked for other artists including A.R. Rahman, Cheryl, Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Kesha, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, David Guetta, U2, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, 2NE1, and Baby Kaely. In collaborations and with the Black Eyed Peas, he has a total of 41 top-40 entries on the UK Singles Chart since 1998, and has sold 9.4 million singles in the UK.


title: Will.i.am

text: In addition to his music career, will.i.am has also been a judge and mentor on the television talent show series "The Voice UK" (2012–present), "The Voice Australia" (2014), and "The Voice Kids" (2017–present). He is the recipient of a Latin Grammy Award, a Daytime Emmy Award, and seven Grammy Awards.


title: Will.i.am

text: William James Adams Jr. was born on March 15, 1975 in Los Angeles, California, and was raised in the Estrada Courts housing projects in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, where he and his family were among the few African Americans living in a predominantly Hispanic community. Adams has never met his father, William Adams Sr. He was raised by his mother, Debra ("née" Cain), who encouraged him to be unique and to avoid conforming to the tendencies of the other youths in the east Los Angeles neighborhood. To encourage his musical career, she sent him to public schools in affluent West Los Angeles. He rode on a bus for an hour to attend Paul Revere Charter Middle School. Later, during the regular school year, he attended Palisades Charter High School. During that time, he started going to raves with classmate Pasquale Rotella. While studying at summer school at John Marshall High School, he became best friends with Allan Pineda (stage name apl.de.ap), who would also be a future member of the Black Eyed Peas. While still in high school, Adams and Pineda performed in East L.A. clubs and were soon joined by three other entertainers to form the socially conscious rap group, Atban Klann. Atban Klann caught the eye of Compton rapper Eazy-E and Mason Miller, and was signed to his label, Ruthless Records in 1992.


title: Will.i.am

text: He later said his history with rave culture is why he chose a more electro sound for the Black Eyed Peas' albums "The E.N.D." and "The Beginning". Despite the use of electro and house music elements, will.i.am prefers to separate the underground from pop. In an article with "Los Angeles Times", he mentions that secrecy over the whereabouts of raves is what made "raving" special, and different from the mainstream.


title: Will.i.am

text: In the summer of 1988 will.i.am began his music career when, as an eighth-grader, he met up with fellow rapper Allan Pineda (apl.de.ap) and fellow student Dante Santiago. They began performing together around Los Angeles and were soon discovered by rapper/entrepreneur Eazy-E, who signed them to his label Ruthless Records in 1992. At the time, Will was known as “Will 1X” Atban Klann's first ever official track, "Merry Muthafuckin' Xmas", was included on Eazy-E's EP "". After this, the trio began recording an album, "Grass Roots", with the help of producers Mookie Mook and DJ Motiv8, but the album was never released due to Eazy-E's tragic death in 1995. Subsequently, they changed their name to Black Eyed Pods, and Will replaced Dante with Jaime Gomez, better known under his stage name of Taboo. In 1997, they once again changed their name, this time to the Black Eyed Peas, and began recording their first album, "Behind the Front", with the help of soul singer Kim Hill. They were soon signed to Interscope Records, and released their debut single, "Joints & Jam", in early 1998. The album was successful enough for the group's contract to be renewed, and in 2000, a second album, "Bridging the Gap", was released.


title: Will.i.am

text: Following the release of "Bridging the Gap", Will began recording his first solo release, "Lost Change", which was the official soundtrack to the film of the same name. Featuring collaborations with Medusa, Planet Asia and Terry Dexter, the album was a critical success.


title: Will.i.am

text: In November 2001, work began on a third Black Eyed Peas album, "Elephunk". Development of the album began on November 2, 2001, and was released just under two years later in 2003. At the time of development, only will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo were to feature on the album. During the production of "Shut Up" (the second single released from the album), they realized that a female vocal would work well with the song. Originally, Nicole Scherzinger (lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls) was approached to make a guest appearance on the record. She was forced to decline because she already was signed to a contract with Eden's Crush. Danté Santiago then introduced Fergie to will.i.am, whom she impressed with her vocal talents. She immediately bonded with the band and became a permanent member of the Peas, and her photo was printed onto the album cover. Lyricist Robbie Fisher, who has been working closely with the band since the beginning stages of the album, composed nine out of the fourteen tracks. In the United States, "Elephunk" reached number 14 on the "Billboard Top 200" and is their first album to chart in the top 15. It gained even more commercial success internationally, particularly in the UK Album Charts where it reached number 3. It has sold over 1.6 million copies in the UK and 8.5 million copies worldwide. The singles "Where Is the Love?" and "Shut Up" reached number 1. "Hey Mama" has been used for several advertisements including advertisements for Apple and iTunes. "Let's Get It Started" also received universal acclaim in the media section where a cover version of the song appears in the film "Hot Tub Time Machine". After the success of "Elephunk", the Peas were approached by EA games to feature some of their music on the 2004 game "". They remixed some of the tracks on Elephunk and translated it into Simlish and created new tracks for the game. They also feature in the game as playable characters.


title: Will.i.am

text: The group released their breakthrough single, "Where Is the Love?", in November 2002 (featuring Justin Timberlake, although he did not appear in the video). On the strength of that single and follow-up singles like "Shut Up", "Elephunk" went on to sell 8.5 million copies worldwide. During this time, Will recorded a second solo album, "Must B 21". In 2002, Will recorded the song "Secrets" for the soundtrack to "", a musical accompaniment to the Cartoon Network original series. Prior to this, he had also composed the theme music for another Genndy Tartakovsky series, "Samurai Jack".


title: Will.i.am

text: In November 2003, work began on a fourth Black Eyed Peas album, entitled "Monkey Business", the second album with new band member Fergie. Upon the success of "Monkey Business", which was released in 2005, the album was certified three times Platinum by the RIAA in the U.S. and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The Canadian Recording Industry Association (or CRIA) has certified "Monkey Business" 6× Platinum, with sales of over 600,000 copies. The Australian Recording Industry Association (or ARIA) has also certified "Monkey Business" 6× Platinum, denoting sales of over 420,000 copies. The album's tracks earned the group four 2006 Grammy Award nominations and they also won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Don't Phunk with My Heart". According to IFPI, over 2 million copies have been sold in Europe. In the UK alone, it has sold over 1 million copies, although this is significantly lower than their sales of "Elephunk", which stand at over 1.6 million copies and 10 million worldwide.


title: Will.i.am

text: The band announced they were going to take a break to focus on their own personal projects. Will went on to produce Fergie's first solo album, "The Dutchess", which was released in 2006, before beginning work with Michael Jackson, who had requested Will's expertise for the recording and production of his new album. Work began on the Jackson album in 2006, and continued until the singer's death in 2009, at which point will.i.am revealed that none of the material recorded during the period would be released. However, remixes recorded for Jackson's "Thriller 25" anniversary album were released in 2008.


title: Will.i.am

text: In 2007, will.i.am announced that he had co-created an all-female soul band entitled the Paradiso Girls, who he intended to work with on an upcoming solo project. The album, "Songs About Girls", was released in 2007. The album spawned three singles, "I Got It From My Mama", "One More Chance" and "Heartbreaker", and fared slightly better than his previous solo efforts, however, failed to shift more than 75,000 copies. Will also did a remix to the song "With Love" by actress and singer Hilary Duff.


title: Will.i.am

text: In 2008, will.i.am contributed the song "One Tribe" to the Survival International charity album, "Songs for Survival". Also in 2008, he was featured on rapper Flo Rida's debut album, "Mail on Sunday", where he produced and featured on the song "In the Ayer", and featured on Usher's fifth album, "Here I Stand". In January 2008, will.i.am announced plans that he was masterminding a political album, "", in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign. The first single, "Yes We Can", featured a music video directed by Jesse Dylan. The lyrics of the song are composed almost entirely of excerpts from Obama's speech on January 8, 2008, following the New Hampshire presidential primary election. The video features appearances from numerous celebrities and first appeared on the website for Dipdive. The video racked up three million views within a week and over four million subsequently on YouTube. On June 13, 2008, "Yes We Can" won an award at the 35th Annual Creative Arts and Entertainment Daytime Emmy Awards for "New Approaches in Daytime Entertainment". On February 29, 2008, the album's second single, "We Are the Ones", was released on Dipdive and YouTube. The video features several celebrities chanting "O-BA-MA" as a portrayal as their hopes and wishes for Obama and his presidential campaign. On November 4, 2008, will.i.am spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper about his support for then-Senator Obama using CNN's 'hologram' technology (actually tomography). Following the 2008 election, and Obama's victory, Will released the album's third single, "It's a New Day". The video reflects on the historical events that led to the election of the first African-American president and the public's reaction to his election. The video debuted on "The Oprah Winfrey Show". In honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama as president, will.i.am collaborated with producer David Foster on the album's fourth single, "America's Song", with contributing vocals from Seal, Bono, Mary J. Blige, and Faith Hill. In response to Obama's reaction following Kanye West's interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, will.i.am penned the album's fifth and final single, "The Jackass Song". It featured a sample of Kanye West's "Heartless". Will wrote a blog post, which featured the song on Dipdive, and released in February 2009. will.i.am attended and spoke at the FIRST Robotics Competition kickoff on January 8, 2011, declaring, "I am a FIRST fan." He has also named FIRST Founder Dean Kamen "one of [his] heroes" on his verified Twitter account.


title: Will.i.am

text: In March 2009, will.i.am announced plans for the Black Eyed Peas to return, and within months their comeback single, "Boom Boom Pow", had reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and "Billboard" Hot 100. They went on to have three number 1 singles before releasing their comeback album, "The E.N.D". The album's success warranted a second comeback album, "The Beginning", released in November 2010. The album spawned another three hit singles, but the band soon announced plans they were to break again, following the conclusion of their world tour. In 2009, will.i.am worked with rappers Flo Rida and Akon for Flo's second studio album, "R.O.O.T.S.", and recorded four tracks with Girls Aloud member Cheryl for her debut solo album "3 Words". He also worked with Rihanna on her fourth studio album, "Rated R", for a track called "Photographs". In February 2010, he wrote and produced the single "OMG" by Usher, which appeared on Usher's seventh studio album, "Raymond vs. Raymond". In a YouTube video posted by YGLifeOfficial on March 15, 2010, will.i.am expressed his desire to work with Korean K-pop girl group 2NE1, and help them achieve international success. Will has recorded a collaboration with Britney Spears, "Big Fat Bass", which features on her seventh studio album, "Femme Fatale".


title: Will.i.am

text: During the recording of the Black Eyed Peas' sixth studio album, "The Beginning", band colleague Fergie announced in an interview that will.i.am was in the process of recording a new solo album, tentatively entitled "Black Einstein". will.i.am formally announced that he was in the process of recording a fourth solo album, with some material being recorded under the pseudonym Zuper Blahq. In January 2010, a cut from the album, "I'm In the House", a collaboration with Steve Aoki, was released as a single, charting at #29 on the UK Singles Chart due to strong downloads. In October 2010, a second cut from the album, "Check It Out", a collaboration with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, peaked at #4 on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2011, a third cut from the album, "Dance", a collaboration with Natalia Kills, peaked at #62 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video was directed by James Sutton, and features a cameo by Natalia. In April 2011, will.i.am recorded four songs for the soundtrack of the animated film "Rio", in which he voiced the character, Pedro the red-crested cardinal. "Hot Wings (I Wanna Party)", "Drop It Low", "Real In Rio" and "Advice For The Young At Heart", featuring an array of artists including Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway and Tears for Fears. None of the songs managed to chart, however, Will announced that he was going to remix the tracks for inclusion on "Black Einstein". In September 2011, a fourth cut from the album, "Forever", a collaboration with Wolfgang Gartner, was released as a single. It was around this time that will.i.am announced that he changed the title of the album from "Black Einstein" to "#willpower". The video premiered on August 26, 2011. In November 2011, Will premiered what is intended to be the album's official lead single, "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)", a collaboration with Jennifer Lopez and Mick Jagger. Will announced via his Twitter that the video for "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)" was filmed in LA, and that before he returned home, he stopped off in Brazil to film the video for the album's second official single, "Great Times". In December 2011, a fifth cut from the album, "Party Like An Animal", a collaboration with Dutch singer Eva Simons and LMFAO, premiered at the HTC Beats Launch party. Will.i.am also announced he has collaborations with Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, Busta Rhymes, Swizz Beatz and a couple others on the album. He also stated there is a possibility Shakira could feature on the album. "#willpower" is due for release in 2013, and will.i.am later confirmed that Cheryl and Justin Bieber would also appear on "#willpower". In mid-October, Britney Spears confirmed on her Twitter account that she had filmed the music video for the single she was featuring in called "Scream & Shout".


title: Will.i.am

text: He was among the performers at the Diamond Jubilee Concert held outside Buckingham Palace on June 4, 2012.


title: Will.i.am

text: The first song broadcast from Mars was his new single, "Reach for the Stars". He discussed and listened to it with a live audience at NASA in Pasadena, California after it was returned from the "Curiosity" rover.


title: Will.i.am

text: The song "Hall of Fame" by the Script also featured will.i.am. It debuted onto radio on July 23, 2012, and was released for digital download on August 21, 2012. He later featured in Priyanka Chopra's debut single "In My City". It was announced in October 2012 that will.i.am will feature on Kesha's second album "Warrior" on the track "Crazy Kids". He also co-wrote and co-produced the Dr Luke produced track.


title: Will.i.am

text: In November 2012, will.i.am released the third single from "#willpower" which was "Scream & Shout" featuring Britney Spears. It debuted in the top 20 on the "Billboard" 100, eventually reaching a peak of number 3 and debuting at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and reaching number one in January 2013 for two weeks. It went number one in many countries


title: Will.i.am

text: During an interview with Capital FM, will.i.am confirmed he had collaborated with Justin Bieber for his next release "#thatPOWER" and premiered the single on the same day it was released onto iTunes in the US the same day and debuted on the Billboard 100 at number 42.


title: Will.i.am

text: In April 2013, will.i.am and Chris Brown's track "Let's Go", also from the #willpower album, became the centre of a copyright controversy, with trance producers Arty and Mat Zo claiming that will.i.am used elements of their 2011 track "Rebound" in his song without permission from the artists or their label. This claim was later backed by Anjunabeats, the record label behind Arty and Mat Zo.


title: Will.i.am

text: His fourth studio album, "#willpower", was re-released in December 2013 featuring several new tracks, including the lead single "Feelin' Myself" featuring Miley Cyrus, French Montana, and Wiz Khalifa.


title: Will.i.am

text: Britney Spears featured will.i.am on her song "It Should Be Easy" on her eighth studio album "Britney Jean", for which he co-wrote and produced several tracks. He was also an executive producer of the project.


title: Will.i.am

text: On April 4, 2014, will.i.am appeared on "", where he talked about plans to release his own Smartwatch. He revealed that it can be used as a phone, to store music, and use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. He also showed a preview of a music video for a song called "It's My Birthday". On May 20, 2014, a 90-second snippet was uploaded to SoundCloud. It features American singer-songwriter Cody Wise, is produced by Will and Damien LeRoy and is written by himself, Cody Wise and Keith Harris. It was released on July 6, 2014.


title: Will.i.am

text: In an interview with Capital FM, will.i.am confirmed that the Black Eyed Peas were getting back together. On April 7, 2016, will.i.am released the single "Boys & Girls" featuring Pia Mia. A week later on April 14, a new remix of "Mona Lisa Smile" featuring Nicole Scherzinger was released.


title: Will.i.am

text: In March 2020, will.i.am collaborated with a group of artists made up of Bono, Jennifer Hudson, and Yoshiki for the song "Sing For Life". The musicians felt motivated by the widespread sense of despair surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the attempts by multiple individuals to pursue creative endeavors while facing new social restrictions. The official YouTube description stated that the track aimed to spread "joy" during trying "times like these".


title: Will.i.am

text: The Black Eyed Peas, including will.i.am, first started acting in the commercial series "Instant Def" to advertise Snickers. He starred in "" as the voice of the character Moto Moto. He contributed a number of tracks to the movie's motion picture soundtrack in collaboration with industry heavyweight Hans Zimmer. Will.i.am played John Wraith in his major film debut, "", a prequel to the "X-Men" film series. He also guest-starred on the CBS drama "Joan of Arcadia" as God, one of several actors who played this role during the series. He also starred in the 2011 animated film "Rio", and 2014's "Rio 2", as a rapping red-crested cardinal named Pedro, and like "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa", he contributed his singing voice to the film's soundtrack, along with his fellow co-stars. Will.i.am played a fathering role in "", which uses the Black Eyed Peas' songs as its own soundtrack. He briefly played himself in the Tina Fey and Steve Carell comedy film "Date Night". He appeared in the 2016 Grammy-nominated documentary film about American DJ and producer Steve Aoki, titled "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead".


title: Will.i.am

text: will.i.am was confirmed as a coach on "The Voice UK", of this he said, "I'm proud to be doing The Voice UK because the UK was the first place I saw success," he said. "It's the place I'm the most creative outside of home." Cohen added, "I am thrilled that will.i.am has signed up to be a coach on The Voice. He is a huge star who will bring a unique creativity to the show." Talking about the differences between the show and "X Factor", "I won't be a judge on X Factor. The Voice is different. You can't even compare the two. One, you have people in the music industry, current and legends, coaching the next generation. The other format you have judges critiquing, giving their opinions on things when they don't really know, other than Randy Jackson on Idol".


title: Will.i.am

text: In preparation for the role as a coach, he asked advice from friend and ex-"The X Factor" judge Cheryl Cole. Talking to "Capital FM" he said, "I reached out to Cheryl for advice on keeping your cool, having a poker face, the importance of sticking with the singers – it's their dream, a lot of the times when you have other performers a part of the show, celebrities tend to want the shine so they hog up time. So my whole thing was that I want to do The Voice, but I don't want to hog up time to where the singers up there are looking like, 'Is this about you guys?'. In March 2012, it was reported that he had turned his "plush" dressing room into a recording studio, and "instead of just listening with his headphones, he has installed some mega bass bins".


title: Will.i.am

text: On November 26, 2013, will.i.am was announced as a coach for the 2014 series of the Australian version of "The Voice" along with fellow "Voice UK" judge Kylie Minogue. He was the winning coach having coached voice winner Anja Nissen in 2014. Neither will.i.am nor Minogue returned for the fourth series in 2015.


title: Will.i.am

text: He has contributed to "The Voice UK" since 2012. He also serves as a coach on the UK version of "The Voice Kids".


title: Will.i.am

text: Before joining the Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. In 2001, he began designing his own signature clothing line, "i.am", which made its official debut in 2005 at the Magic Apparel Trade Show in Las Vegas. In 2007, will.i.am teamed up with Blue Holdings to design a premium denim collection, "i.am Antik", that was scheduled to debut in August 2007 at the Project Show in Las Vegas. will.i.am instead had new partners and was launching "i.am". Will.i.am is currently being sued $2 million for abandoning the project for which, the label states, he was obligated until 2016, but will.i.am insists it is already over. He also launched his own glasses range.


title: Will.i.am

text: Appearing at the kickoff event for the 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition, Logo Motion held at Southern New Hampshire University, will.i.am stated that he is "a big fan", and that the newly unveiled game was "dope". He also executive produced a TV Special - I.AM. FIRST: Science is Rock & Roll - about the 2011 FIRST World Championship at the Edward Jones Dome, St Louis. It was produced by Greg Sills and Paul Flattery, directed by Michael Dempsey. It was aired by ABC on August 14, 2011, at 7 p.m. As part of the special, will.i.am appeared with the Black Eyed Peas. Willow Smith also performed and will.i.am did a DJ set. He continues to support FIRST, and at the 2013 FIRST World Championship, will.i.am became the first recipient of the Make It Loud award, which is given to the person who has contributed the most in increasing the awareness of FIRST to the general public.


title: Will.i.am

text: In January 2011, Intel named will.i.am as director of creative innovation, with input in developing smartphones, tablets and laptops.


title: Will.i.am

text: In January 2012, he appeared on the BBC TV series "Top Gear", as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, where he claimed he was starting his own car company called IAMAUTO.


title: Will.i.am

text: By becoming the first artist to stream a song ("Reaching for the Stars") from the surface of Mars on August 28, 2012, will.i.am made inter-planetary music history. The event took place at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.


title: Will.i.am

text: Expanding his forays into iPhone accessory development, will.i.am announced plans to release a camera enhancer to "dramatically enhance the clarity and definition of iPhone photographs," by effectively making the 8-megapixel sensor into a 14-megapixel one. Termed the i.am+, the device was said to be the first in a series of "digital real estate" for the singer.


title: Will.i.am

text: In April 2016, it was announced that i.am+ had acquired the Tel Aviv machine-learning technology start-up Sensiya.


title: Will.i.am

text: Since retiring from music (a retirement that did not last), he has helped design smartwatches for German company Deutsche Telekom since late 2015.


title: Will.i.am

text: In 2016, "The Verge" reported that will.i.am would join actress Gwyneth Paltrow and serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk on Apple TV's "Planet of the Apps", calling the trio "successful" and "big names" with experience launching companies. The show received mixed to negative reviews.


title: Will.i.am

text: On July 27, 2017, i.am+ acquired Wink, the Internet of Things and Smart Home hub platform, from owner Flextronics for a reported $38.7 million with an additional $20 million commitment, likely earmarked to sustain manufacturing of Wink's products. In late 2019, will.i.am's technology company, i.am+, was the subject of multiple tax liens, with the state of California alleging over $500,000 in delinquent taxes. The United States government also filed a lien against i.am+ in August 2019, alleging $1,787,726.11 in delinquent taxes and interest.


title: Will.i.am

text: In December 2010, will.i.am said that he suffers from tinnitus, a disorder common among musicians who have been exposed to loud music for prolonged periods. In April 2013, he stated that he has ADHD. will.i.am follows a vegan diet.


title: Will.i.am

text: As the nephew of former NFL player Lynn Cain, who played for the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams, will.i.am spent a large part of his life looking up to his uncle as a role model.


title: Will.i.am

text: On June 22, 2009, gossip blogger Perez Hilton accused will.i.am and his entourage of assaulting him in Toronto after the MuchMusic Video Awards, a charge will.i.am denied in a video posted on his blog. No further action was taken.


title: Orville Peck

text: Orville Peck is a South African country musician based in Canada. He wears a fringed mask and has never shown his face publicly. He released his debut album "Pony" in 2019, followed by the EP "Show Pony" the next year. His second studio album "Bronco" was released on April 8, 2022.


title: Orville Peck

text: Peck was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and lived there until he was 15. As a child, Peck taught himself music by playing on an acoustic guitar and an old Casio keyboard. He is the son of a sound engineer, and he did voice-over work for cartoons and other media as a child. Growing up, he trained in ballet for 12 years, and performed in musical theatre. By the time he was in his early 20s, Peck had been on national tours of musicals.


title: Orville Peck

text: In his mid-20s, he moved to London to study acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and later starred in a play on the West End.


title: Orville Peck

text: "Orville Peck" is a pseudonym; he has been described as "presumably older than 20 and younger than 40".


title: Orville Peck

text: Peck self-produced his debut album, "Pony", and released it in 2019 through a collaboration with Sub Pop. He has noted that he "wrote, produced and played every instrument he could" on the album while working in a coffee shop and living with his parents. In June of that year, he performed his songs "Dead of Night" and "Take You Back" live on CBC Radio One's "Q". "Pony" was named to the initial longlist for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize in June 2019. The album also received a Juno Award nomination for Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2020.


title: Orville Peck

text: Peck performed "Dead of Night" on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on January 29, 2020. He also announced a tour of selected cities in the United States, including performances at the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals.


title: Orville Peck

text: In May 2020, Peck announced the follow-up to his debut album, an EP titled "Show Pony", with a release date of June 12, 2020. In July, 2020, Peck announced the delayed release of "Show Pony" until August 14, 2020, in recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing protests against police brutality in the United States.


title: Orville Peck

text: Peck recorded a cover of "Smalltown Boy" for the 2020 Pride edition of the Spotify Singles series. The song was released exclusively on Spotify on June 29, 2020, and everywhere else on July 31, 2020.


title: Orville Peck

text: In April 2021, Peck was featured on American drag queen and singer Trixie Mattel's EP, "Full Coverage, Vol. 1". He appeared on the song "Jackson", a duet cover of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash's "Jackson." In June, he was revealed to be the sixth artist on Lady Gaga's "Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary", with Peck reimagining the song "Born This Way" in a country style.


title: Orville Peck

text: It's been confirmed that Orville Peck is a persona of Daniel Pitout, drummer of the Canadian punk band Nü Sensae. Previously it had been speculated that Pitout was Peck based on the similarity of Peck's tattoos, as well as Peck mentioning that he was in a punk band. Pitout was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, as was Peck. Pitout also starred as a replacement in "Peter Pan Goes Wrong" in the West End in 2016, which lines up with Peck mentioning he was in a West End play while he lived in London. Pitout is also listed by ASCAP as the songwriter for Peck's song "Old River" and other songs that match the titles of the songs released by Peck, such as "Roses Are Falling".


title: Orville Peck

text: Peck strongly identifies with 1970s era country music and lists classic stars Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Bobbie Gentry, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton as influences. Of Parton, he explained that: “when I first discovered her, I thought that she was like a character; I didn’t really know that she was a real person making music. That’s the beauty of that age of country music that inspires me – these heightened versions of yourself so it’s really sincere on one hand and on [the other] hand it’s larger-than-life, but it’s nice that those things can live side-by-side.” Peck states that Merle Haggard is his favorite artist of that time, as he connected to Haggard's openness in his songwriting despite his reserved nature, explaining: “He holds back a lot, but by doing that I think he revealed a lot. I’m not a very open person naturally, but I think that sincerity has come through my music and my lyrics because I find it very hard to be open in everyday life.” Outside of country music, Peck has mentioned Roy Orbison, Oasis, Whitney Houston and Lana Del Rey and film directors David Lynch and John Waters as influences.


title: Orville Peck

text: When discussing his debut album "Pony", Peck listed albums by Cash, Jefferson Airplane, X, Parton, Patti Smith, Haggard, Descendents, Neil Young, Sonic Youth and Orbison as influences on his sound. While promoting his duet "Legends Never Die", Peck highlighted the significance that the music of Shania Twain has had on him, explaining “she has always been a hero of mine and her music made me feel so empowered growing up.”


title: Orville Peck

text: For his second album, "Bronco", Peck noted the influence of 60s and 70s psychedelic rock, specifically mentioning bands Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas & the Papas, Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett and South African folk artists Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela alongside the "flower child" country influences of Parsons, Harris, Haggard and Nelson.


title: Orville Peck

text: Peck is gay. Regarding his reasons for wearing a mask to perform, Peck has stated that "the only reason I don't talk about it in depth is not because I want to dodge any questions, but because I want people to have their own take on it. I don't want to lay it out and pin it down. I just don't think that's important." Regarding his nationality, he stated in 2022 that "[e]veryone thinks I'm Canadian because I lived in Canada for a long time, but I'm not. I was born in South Africa—I grew up in Johannesburg until I was 15. I never talked about where I was from only because I wanted to wait—obviously, I'm a man of mystery and I like to not give everyone everything all at once... I'm so proud to be South African. I go back there all the time."


title: Orville Peck

text: In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, "Queerty" named him among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people".


title: Orville Peck

text: In June 2022, Peck was presented with the Cultural Icon Award by the Tom of Finland Foundation, "for artistic achievement and immeasurable contributions to the art and culture of our community", an award previously presented to Rob Halford, Henry Rollins, Clive Barker and John Waters.


title: Los Zetas

text: Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indiscriminate murder. While primarily concerned with drug trafficking, the organization also runs profitable sex and gun rackets. Los Zetas also operate through protection rackets, assassinations, extortion, kidnappings and other illegal activities. The organization is based in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, directly across the border from Laredo, Texas. The origins of Los Zetas date back to the late 1990s, when commandos of the Mexican Army deserted their ranks and began working as the enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel. In February 2010, Los Zetas broke away and formed their own criminal organization, rivalling the Gulf Cartel.


title: Los Zetas

text: They were at one point Mexico's largest and most expansive drug cartel in terms of geographical presence, overtaking their rivals, the Sinaloa Cartel in physical territory. However, in recent times Los Zetas has become fragmented and seen its influence diminish. As of March 2016, Grupo Bravo (Bravo Group) and Zetas Vieja Escuela (Old School Zetas) have formed an alliance with the Gulf Cartel against Cartel Del Noreste (Cartel of the Northeast). In March 2019, Texas Republican congressman Chip Roy introduced a bill that would list the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas, Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Gulf Cartel as foreign terrorist organizations. Former United States President Donald Trump had also expressed interest in designating cartels as terrorist organizations. However such plans were halted at the request of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.


title: Los Zetas

text: Los Zetas was named after its first commander, Arturo Guzmán Decena, whose Federal Judicial Police radio code was "Z1", a code given to high-ranking officers. The radio code for commanding Federal Judicial Police officers in Mexico was "Y" and those officers are nicknamed "Yankees", while Federal Judicial Police in charge of a city was codenamed "Z"; thus they were nicknamed as "Zetas", the Spanish word for the letter.


title: Los Zetas

text: After Osiel Cárdenas Guillén took control of the Gulf Cartel in 1997, he found himself in a violent turf war. To keep his organization and leadership from rival drug cartels and from the Mexican Army, Cárdenas sought out Decena, a retired army lieutenant. Decena lured more than thirty deserters from the elite Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE) to become his personal bodyguards, and later, as his mercenary wing. These deserters were enticed with salaries much higher than what they were paid by the military. Some of these former GAFE members reportedly received training in commando and urban warfare from the Israeli and U.S. Special Forces.


title: Los Zetas

text: Once Guillen consolidated his power, he expanded the responsibilities of Los Zetas, which began to organize kidnappings, protection rackets, extortion, securing cocaine supply and trafficking routes known as "plazas" (zones) and executing its foes, often with extreme violence. However, in November 2002, Decena was killed in a military action at a restaurant in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, allowing Heriberto Lazcano ("Z3") to take control of the group. In response to the rising power of the Gulf Cartel, the rival Sinaloa Cartel established Los Negros, an enforcer group similar to Los Zetas but not as complex or successful. Upon the arrest of Guillen in March 2003 and his extradition in 2007, the Zetas took a more active leadership role within the Gulf Cartel and their influence grew within the organization.


title: Los Zetas

text: The Zetas' membership ranges from corrupt federal, state, and local police officers, and former U.S. Army personnel, to ex-Kaibiles, the special forces of the Guatemalan military. Over time, many of the Zetas' original thirty-one members have been killed or arrested; a number of younger men have filled the vacuum, but the group as currently extant remains far from the efficiency of their paramilitary origins.


title: Los Zetas

text: Los Zetas was partially responsible for a qualitative increase in the brutality of the violence seen during the Modern Mexican Drug Wars. Unlike other cartels, the Zetas did not buy alliances so much as terrorize their enemies. Because the cartel was quite new at the time, it competed with more established cartels by using extreme violence and cruelty as a form of psychological warfare. They tortured victims, strung up bodies, and slaughtered indiscriminately. They preferred to take military-style control of territory, holding it through sheer force and exploiting its criminal opportunities. Although their military training was diluted over time, their brutality was not. Rival cartels struggling against the Zetas began to adopt some of their tactics, further ramping up violence in the country. As other organized crime groups subsequently copied the Zetas' brutal and superfluous methods to ensure they could survive, this resulted in the violence in Mexico escalating to much higher levels and to new forms. Some of these newer tortures and hyper-violent execution styles included practices such as flaying and castration as well as public displays of the victims.


title: Los Zetas

text: Following the capture and extradition of Cárdenas, Los Zetas became so powerful that they outnumbered and outclassed the Gulf Cartel in revenue, membership, and influence by 2010. As a result of this imbalance, the Cartel tried to curtail their own enforcers' influence and ended up instigating a civil war. In addition, the Cartel, through its narco-banners in Matamoros and Reynosa, accused Los Zetas of expanding their operations to murder, theft, extortion, kidnapping – actions that the Cartel allegedly disagreed with. Los Zetas countered by posting their own banners throughout Tamaulipas, noting that they had carried out executions and kidnappings under orders of the Cartel and they were originally created for that sole purpose. In addition, Los Zetas charged that the Cartel was scapegoating them for the murders of innocent civilians.


title: Los Zetas

text: Reports vary as to who triggered the formal split and why. Some sources claim that Guillén, brother of Cárdenas and one of the successors of the Gulf Cartel, was addicted to gambling, sex, and drugs, leading Los Zetas to perceive his leadership as a threat to the organization. Other reports mention, however, that the divide occurred due to a disagreement on who would take on the leadership of the cartel after the extradition of Cárdenas. The candidates from the Cartel were Guillén and Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, while Los Zetas wanted to hand the leadership to their own head, Lazcano. The Cartel also reportedly began looking to form a truce with the rival Sinaloa Cartel, which Los Zetas did not want to recognize, allegedly preferring an alliance with the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. Samuel Flores Borrego, a lieutenant of the Cartel, killed Zetas lieutenant Sergio Peña Mendoza, alias "El Concorde 3", due to a disagreement over the drug corridor of Reynosa, whom both protected. Los Zetas demanded that the Cartel hand over the killer, but they refused.


title: Los Zetas

text: When the hostilities began, the Cartel joined forces with its former rivals, the Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Michoacana, aiming to take out Los Zetas. Consequently, Los Zetas allied with the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, the Juárez Cartel, and the Tijuana Cartel.


title: Los Zetas

text: In early 2010, Miguel Treviño Morales, the former second-in-command of Los Zetas, had reportedly taken the leadership of the Zetas and displaced Lazcano. Lazcano was initially content to have Morales in his ranks, but reportedly gave Morales too much power and underestimated his violent nature. Morales' active leadership gained him the loyalty and respect of many in Los Zetas, leading many to eventually stop paying their tributes to Lazcano. Los Zetas are inherently an unstable organized crime group with a long history of brutal violence, and with the possibility of more if the infighting continues and if they fight off without a central command.


title: Los Zetas

text: Los Zetas have also carried out multiple massacres and attacks on civilians and rival cartels, such as:


title: Los Zetas

text: By 2011, only 10 of the original 34 zetas remained fugitives, and to this day most of them have either been killed or captured by the Mexican law enforcement and military forces.


title: Los Zetas

text: As of 2012, Los Zetas had control over 11 states in Mexico, making it the drug cartel with the largest territory in the country. Their rivals, the Sinaloa Cartel, had lost some territories to Los Zetas, and went down from 23 states in dominion to 16.


title: Los Zetas

text: By the beginning of 2012, Mexico's government escalated its offensive against the Zetas with the announcement that five new military bases will be installed in the group's primary areas of operation.


title: Los Zetas

text: On 9 October 2012, the Mexican Navy confirmed that Los Zetas leader Heriberto Lazcano had been killed in a firefight with Mexican marines in a state on the border with Texas.


title: Los Zetas

text: In a May 2013 interview with the International Crisis Group, researcher Daniel Haering stated, "The old networks were disrupted by the Zetas, and now the Zetas have disintegrated into Zetillas. They are splinter groups ('grupúsculos'), not big operators."


title: Los Zetas

text: On 14 July 2013, it was reported that the Mexican Marine Corps captured the Zetas leader Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, also known as "Z-40" in Anáhuac, Nuevo León, near the border of Tamaulipas state. The authorities allege that he was succeeded by Omar Treviño Morales (alias "Z-42"), his brother.


title: Los Zetas

text: On 12 October 2013, Mexican authorities captured alleged top Zetas operative Gerardo Jaramillo, alias "El Yanqui". His arrest ultimately resulted in the discovery and seizure of a large Zetas weapons cache and supply stash, including "assault rifles, several grenade launchers, magazines, 2,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, bullet-proof vests and balaclavas".


title: Los Zetas

text: On 9 May 2014, one of the founding members, Galindo Mellado Cruz, and four other armed men were killed in a shootout after Mexican security forces raided Cruz's hideout in the city of Reynosa.


title: Los Zetas

text: On 3 March 2015, Mexican security forces arrested the last known leader of the remaining Zetas structure, Omar Treviño Morales (alias "Z-42") in a suburb in Monterrey, Nuevo León.


title: Los Zetas

text: On 23 March 2015, Ramiro Pérez Moreno (alias "El Rana"), a potential successor of "Z-42" was captured, along with 4 other men, carrying 6 kilos of cocaine and marijuana, rifles and one hand grenade.


title: Los Zetas

text: On 9 February 2018, Mexican authorities arrested the new leader José María Guízar Valencia alias "Z-43" in Mexico City in Roma neighbourhood. US offered $5m reward for his capture, he is responsible for importing thousands of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine to the US every year and murdered an untold number of Guatemalan civilians during the systematic takeover of the Guatemalan border region.


title: Los Zetas

text: On 9 April 2019, José Roberto Stolberg Becerra, also known as "La Barbie", was arrested in Jalisco. He was reported to have been the leader of the cartel's Los Zetas la Vieja Escuela (Old School Zetas) faction.


title: Los Zetas

text: On 26 May 2019, an operative for Los Zetas in the Veracruz municipalities of Las Choapas and Agua Dulce was arrested by the Mexican Navy.


title: Los Zetas

text: In early July 2019, Los Zetas leaders Jorge Antonio "El Yorch" Gloria Palacios, the second-in-command of the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) faction of Los Zetas, and Hugo "El Ganso" Sanchez Garcia, who served as head of Los Zetas in San Fernando, were detained by Mexican authorities.


title: Los Zetas

text: In January 2020, Los Zetas regional leader José Carmen N., also known as "El Comandante Reyes", was arrested in Oaxaca. He was believed to be in charge of the gang's operations in 12 municipalities in Veracruz, including Acayucan, Minatitlán and Coatzacoalcos, known as the state's most violent towns. The same month, Verónica Hernández Giadáns, the Attorney General of Veracruz, admitted that her cousin Guadalupe "La Jefa" Hernández Hervis was in fact chief of operations for Los Zetas and also a close association of former Los Zetas leader Hernán "El Comandante H" Martínez Zavaleta, who was arrested in 2017.


title: Los Zetas

text: In March 2020, senior Los Zetas operative Hugo Alejandro Salcido Cisneros, also known as "El Porras" or "Comandante Pinpon", was killed in a gun battle with police in Nuevo Laredo. Salcido Cisneros was the leader of the "Tropa del Infierno", a group of hitmen under the direction of the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) fraction of Los Zetas. Several other Tropa del Infierno gunmen was injured in the clashes as well.


title: Los Zetas

text: In May 2020, Moisés Escamilla, a leader of the "Old School Zetas" died in prison after contracting COVID-19.


title: Los Zetas

text: The drug violence and political corruption that has plagued Tamaulipas, the home state of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, has fueled fears of it becoming a "failed state" and a haven for drug traffickers and criminals. The massacre of 72 migrants and the discovery of mass graves in San Fernando, the assassination of the gubernatorial candidate Rodolfo Torre Cantú, the increasing violence between cartels, and the state's inability to ensure safety have led some analysts to conclude that "neither the regional nor federal government have control over the territory of Tamaulipas."


title: Los Zetas

text: Although drug-related violence had existed long before the Mexican Drug War, it often happened in low-profile levels, with the government "looking the other way" in exchange for bribes while drug traffickers went about their business – as long as there was no violence. During the 71-year rule of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the Mexican government would conduct customary arrests and allow cartel business to continue.


title: Los Zetas

text: After the PRI lost power to the National Action Party (PAN) in the 2000 presidential election, all the "agreements" between the previous government and the cartels were lost along with the "pax mafiosa". Tamaulipas was no exception; according to PAN politician Santiago Creel, the PRI in Tamaulipas had been protecting the Gulf-Zeta organization for years. The PAN has claimed that government elections in Tamaulipas are likely to encounter an "organized crime influence".


title: Los Zetas

text: In addition, there are formal charges that three former governors of Tamaulipas – Manuel Cavazos Lerma (1993–1999), Tomás Yarrington (1999–2005), and Eugenio Hernández Flores (2005–2010) – have had close ties with the Gulf-Zeta organization. On 30 January 2012, the Attorney General of Mexico issued a communiqué ordering the governors and their families to remain in the country as they are being investigated for possible collaboration with cartels. In 2012, Yarrington was further accused of money laundering for Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel.


title: Los Zetas

text: In Tampico, Mayor Óscar Pérez Inguanzo was arrested on 12 November 2011 due to his "improper exercise of public functions and forgery" of certain documents. In mid-2010, both Flores and the mayor of Reynosa, Óscar Luebbert Gutiérrez – both members of the PRI – were criticized for claiming that there were no armed confrontations in Tamaulipas and that the widespread violence was "only a rumor". Months later, Flores finally acknowledged that several parts of Tamaulipas were "being overrun by organized crime violence". Gutiérrez later recognized the work of the federal troops and acknowledged that his city was experiencing "an escalation in violence".


title: Los Zetas

text: On 25 March 2010, forty inmates escaped from a federal prison in the city of Matamoros. On 5 April 2010, at a prison in Reynosa, a convoy of ten trucks packed with gunmen entered the prison grounds without resistance, broke into the cells, and liberated thirteen "extremely dangerous" inmates. Eighty-five inmates escaped from the same Reynosa prison six months later. In Nuevo Laredo, on 17 December 2010, 141 inmates escaped from a federal prison. The federal government condemned the mass prison break and stated that the work by the state and municipal authorities of Tamaulipas lack effective control measures, and urged them to strengthen their institutions.


title: Los Zetas

text: A confrontation inside a maximum security prison in Nuevo Laredo on 15 July 2011 left 7 inmates dead and 59 escaped. Five on-duty guards have not been found. The governor of Tamaulipas then acknowledged his inability to secure federal prisoners and prisons. Consequently, the federal government assigned the Mexican Army and the Federal Police to guard some prisons until further notice; they were also left in charge of searching for the fugitives. It has been reported that more than 400 prison inmates escaped from several Tamaulipas prisons from January 2010 to March 2011 due to corruption.


title: Los Zetas

text: On 17 September 2012 in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, more than 130 inmates from Los Zetas organized a massive prison break in broad daylight by walking directly from the front gate to several trucks outside the prison.


title: Los Zetas

text: Tamaulipas police forces are the worst paid in Mexico despite being one of the states hardest hit by drug violence; in Aguascalientes, a state where violence levels are much lower, policemen are paid five times more than in Tamaulipas. As a result, most police forces in Tamaulipas are believed to be susceptible to corruption due to their low wages, and accept bribes from organized crime groups. The National Public Security System (SNSP) has condemned the low police salaries, and demanded that state and municipal authorities create better payment programs for policemen so they can have a fair wage for themselves and their families.


title: Los Zetas

text: Although the Joint Operation Nuevo León-Tamaulipas issued in 2007, along with several other military-led operations by the federal government, brought thousands of troops to restore order in Tamaulipas, on 9 May 2011, the Federal Police and the Mexican Army disarmed all police forces in Tamaulipas, beginning with the cities of Matamoros and Reynosa. The following month, the federal government was asked to send in troops to combat the drug cartels in the area, to "consolidate actions on public safety" and "strengthen the capacity of their institutions". However, the troops could only replace half of the policemen in the state. Consequently, the government is currently building military bases in Ciudad Mier, San Fernando and Ciudad Mante. On 7 November 2011, 650 policemen were released from their duties because they had either failed or refused "corruption control tests".


title: Los Zetas

text: Los Zetas have set up camps to train recruits as well as corrupt ex-federal, state, and local police officers. In September 2005 testimony to the Mexican Congress from the then-Defense Secretary Clemente Vega, indicated that the Zetas had also hired at least 30 former Kaibiles from Guatemala to train new recruits because the number of former Mexican special forces men in their ranks had shrunk. Los Zetas' training locations have been identified as having a similar setup as military GAFE training facilities.


title: Los Zetas

text: Los Zetas members may also possess a "Los Zetas Commando Medallion" for their service to the organization.


title: Los Zetas

text: It is reported that Los Zetas also uses women within their organizational structure. There is a female unit known as the "Panteras", or panthers. These women use seduction to negotiate with military, law enforcement, and political personnel to help Los Zetas' goals. In the event that they are unable to obtain the desired outcome, they may kill their targets. The initial leader of this group was Ashly "La Comandante Bombón" Narro López; she was captured in 2009 in connection to the murder of General Tello Quiñones. Women also work within the cartel as plaza bosses, administrators, mediators, and shooters.


title: Los Zetas

text: Arturo Guzman was initially tasked by Cardenas to recruit 20 men to murder his rival Rolando Lopez Salinas. Guzman and Lazcano were eventually able to convince 34 GAFE operators to leave the Mexican Army and form the core of Los Zetas. The first 14 members became known as the "Group of 14" ("Grupo de los Catorce") or simply "The 14" ("Los 14").


title: Los Zetas

text: In the early 2010s, analysts indicated that Los Zetas were the largest organized crime group in Mexico in terms of geographical presence. They are primarily based in the border region of Nuevo Laredo and Coahuila with hundreds more throughout the country. They have placed lookouts at arrival destinations such as airports, bus stations and main roads. In addition to conducting criminal activities along the border, they operate throughout the Gulf of Mexico, in the southern states of Tabasco, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, and Chiapas, and in the Pacific Coast states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Michoacán, as well as in Mexico City.


title: Los Zetas

text: They are also active in several states in the United States, including Texas. The cartel also has important areas of operation in Guatemala, where their operations are reported to have begun as early as 2008. They are active in Europe, specifically in Italy with the 'Ndrangheta.


title: Los Zetas

text: Early in 2012 it was reported that 'Los Zetas' are operating in the northern Venezuela–Colombia border, and have teamed up with the Colombian outfit called Los Rastrojos. Together they control the drug trafficking routes in the Colombian La Guajira and the Venezuelan state of Zulia, Colombia as the producing country and Venezuela as the main port route toward the U.S. and Europe.


title: Los Zetas

text: Indications of the broken alliance between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas began in September 2009. On 24 February 2010, gunmen onboard hundreds of trucks marked "C.D.G", "XXX", and "M3" the insignias of the Cartel clashed with Zetas gunmen in the northern cities of Tamaulipas. The clash between these two groups started in Reynosa, and then expanded to Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros. The war then spread out through eleven municipalities of Tamaulipas, nine of them bordering Texas. Soon, the war reached Tamaulipas' neighboring states of Nuevo León and Veracruz. Their conflict also spread to U.S. soil, where Cartel hit men killed two Zeta members in Brownsville, Texas on 5 October 2010.


title: Los Zetas

text: Confrontations between the two groups temporarily paralyzed entire cities in broad daylight. Many of the municipalities throughout Tamaulipas were described by witnesses as "war zones", with many businesses and homes burned down. In the midst of violence and panic, local authorities and media tried to minimize the situation and claimed that "nothing was occurring", but the facts were impossible to cover up.


title: Los Zetas

text: For many years, there were long-fought battles between the Gulf and Sinaloa Cartels, that eventually led the two to reevaluate the situation and decide whether or not this combat was in either organization's best interests. The complexity and territorial advantage of Los Zetas forced the Gulf Cartel to seek an alliance with the Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Michoacana.


title: Los Zetas

text: Following the conflict with the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas joined forces with the Beltrán Leyva Cartel (who was simultaneously separating from the Sinaloa Cartel) as well as the Juarez Cartel and Tijuana Cartel or Arellano Félix organization, to counteract the alliance of the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Michoacana cartels. Since February 2010, the major cartels have aligned in two factions, one formed by the Juárez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel, Los Zetas and the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel; the other faction integrated by the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Cartel.


title: Los Zetas

text: In a 2010 report, it was noted Sureño street gangs maintain ties with the Los Zetas cartel in California and South Carolina. A recent report from the FBI shows US street gangs growing closer with Mexican cartels. Within the United States, Los Zetas are using social media as a method of communication between the two countries and are also using the sites as a method of recruiting young aspiring members who in their perception see the actions of the cartel as glorified and are able to ask how they can join. In addition, Sureños share connections with Los Zetas, as do the gangs MS-13, Mexican Mafia, and Latin Kings. Los Zetas used main highways in the United States such as I-10,I-40, and I-35 to get their drugs to different cities. A few of these cities include Chicago and Houston.


title: Los Zetas

text: On 13 February 2017, Venezuelan vice president Tareck El Aissami was sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, with US officials accusing him of facilitating drug shipments from Venezuela to Mexico and the US, freezing millions of dollars of assets purportedly under El Aissami's control. The accusation included allegations that El Aissami had trafficked drugs to Los Zetas.


title: Los Zetas

text: Due to the high level counter insurgency training of the initial members from the Mexican military, Los Zetas have been infamously difficult to disrupt. Despite this, Los Zetas operations have been successfully interrupted by US and Mexican Law enforcement agencies. Los Zetas Following a bilateral law enforcement investigation named 'Operation Black Jack', executed by the ATF, DEA, ICE and the FBI, three Zeta safe houses were identified in Mexico and raided by Mexican federal security forces, releasing more than 40 kidnapped individuals, and making the largest weapons seizure in the history of Mexico; it included 540 rifles including 288 assault rifles and several .50-caliber rifles, 287 hand grenades, 2 M72 LAW anti-tank weapons, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, 67 ballistic vests, 3 anti aircraft weapons and 14 sticks of dynamite.


title: Los Zetas

text: In October 2008, the FBI warned that a Zetas' cell in Texas would engage law enforcement with a full tactical response, should law enforcement attempt to intervene in their operations. The cell leader was identified as Jaime González Durán ("The Hummer"), who was later arrested on 7 November 2008, in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas.


title: Los Zetas

text: In February 2009, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced a program called "Operation Border Star Contingency Plan" to safeguard the border if the Zetas carried out their threats to attack U.S. security officers. This project included the use of tanks, airplanes and the National Guard "as a preventive measure upon the possible collapse of the Mexican State" to protect the border from a Zetas attack and receive an eventual exodus of Mexicans fleeing from the violence.


title: Los Zetas

text: In 2012 the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Los Zetas as one of four key transnational organized crime groups, along with the Brothers' Circle from Russia, the Yamaguchi-gumi (Yakuza) from Japan, and the Camorra from Italy.


title: Los Zetas

text: Also in 2012, the United States posted a $5,000,000 reward for information leading to the successful capture of Miguel Treviño Morales. Trevino-Morales is known in Los Zetas as "Z-40" On 12 June 2012, "Z-40" and two of his brothers were arrested and indicted on charges in Texas after raids and dozens of arrests in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.


title: Los Zetas

text: There is a great lack of funding being sent to Mexico by the United States to combat Los Zetas, although they address Mexico in the media as their biggest concern. The Mérida Initiative that was put in place by the Bush administration in the United States suggested that $1.4 billion in funds was to be sent to Mexico over a three-year period to combat narco trafficking from the U.S.-Mexico border to Panama, but few of these funds have yet to be received in Mexico. In addition, the Obama administration made a very modest effort by way of support for the struggling country although "former drug czar Barry McCaffrey told Congress that Merida, was 'a drop in the bucket'", and that the United States "cannot afford to have a narco-state as [their] neighbour".


title: Los Zetas

text: Thus far, of the resources promised by the United States government regarding Mexico and their ongoing drug combat, little has been received, principally because Mexico's 2012–18 PRI government failed to honor the clause of improving and upholding human rights in the Mexican Federal Republic.


title: Los Zetas

text: The operation to expose information of people who work with Los Zetas, dubbed "Operation Cartel", was reportedly started as a result of an Anonymous member being kidnapped during Operation Paperstorm in Veracruz, a once peaceful city.


title: Los Zetas

text: "The New York Times" mentioned that Los Zetas has access to sophisticated tracking software due to the fact that they have infiltrated Mexican law enforcement agencies, and that online anonymity might not be enough protection for Internet users.


title: Los Zetas

text: Los Zetas have caused terror throughout Mexico for the past two decades. But they also present a threat to all nations in the Western Hemisphere. As of 2017, 40% of Mexico's oil market is under the control of the Zetas. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Mexico is responsible for 10% of all of United States petroleum imports and plays an even larger role in exporting to nations in South America. In the oil industry alone, the influence of Los Zetas has the potential to cause economic instability in every nation Mexico partners with, and many of these nations may not have the economy to be able to withstand this instability.


title: Los Zetas

text: The Zetas also play a role in transporting humans and drugs across borders, providing security to these operations. These drug trades are responsible for providing countries from Colombia to the United States with narcotics and other harmful substances. Mexico serves as a central location for these organizations to conduct their business and thus gets affected the most, but the effects are seen all along the trade route. In addition to the more common drugs like marijuana and cocaine, the DEA has reported Los Zetas have also provided support in the fentanyl trade, an extremely potent drug that has been the primary drug causing overdose, with America alone exceeding 100,000 deaths per year by overdose. These harder drugs are shipped to the cartels through partnerships with China and other Asian countries, before being distributed out across the Americas. The constant supply of drugs to all countries in the west can be directly contributed to the Zetas and other major cartels in Mexico, and it will continue to corrupt Mexico's neighbors.


title: Los Zetas

text: The last method Los Zetas use to influence western nations is through criminal rule in prison systems. Los Zetas members have long been known to create a system of criminal governance within prison systems through extortion and executions, and they have been the catalyst for many prison riots and outbreaks in nations outside of Mexico. Los Angeles, in particular, has seen a significant increase in Los Zetas' presence within their prison systems, and Guatemala also has a large population of convicted ex-military members with ties to the cartel in their prison systems. While these two nations have the most influence from the cartel, Los Zetas are beginning to occupy more nations in the west and recruit members through prison systems.


title: Los Zetas

text: Los Zetas is a Mexican-based cartel that primarily engages in drug, weapon, human trafficking operations.  They pose a great humanitarian risk to the regional communities and to those in which its activities extend, including several countries in Central America and across the largest cities in the United States.  Since the group has committed torture, executions, and mass murder, it is seemingly identified as a terrorist organization.  Despite this, Los Zetas is characterized as an organized criminal group because it has an expansive membership, has existed over a period of time, and commits serious crimes for the purpose of financial gain.


title: Los Zetas

text: Los Zetas' original 31 members were soldiers in Mexico's most elite special forces unit, the Grupos Aeromóviles de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE).  Since the group's inception as a drug trafficking organization, it has recruited soldiers from the Mexican military that train cartel members and lead operations.  The cartel's success is attributed to their military professionalism and extreme use of violence.


title: Los Zetas

text: At the height of the Los Zetas operation, it was the largest cartel in terms of territorial control.  It was able to gain and maintain its territory across Mexico because of the organization's hierarchical structure—this reflects organized crime's theoretical perspective of the bureaucracy model.  Los Zetas divides its roles and responsibilities along strategic, operational, and tactical lines which allow them to effectively combat rival cartels and engage in illicit activities.


title: Los Zetas

text: Although Los Zetas does not have control over Mexico's political institutions, it has breached Mexico's law enforcement institutions.  The cartel has corrupted hundreds of local and state security officials by offering them bribes and threatening them with death.  As a result, Los Zetas has been able to freely engage in illicit activities without being impeded by police in those areas.


title: Los Zetas

text: In the last decade, however, Mexico has received money from the United States to better resource their military.  Since then, the government has made great steps to destabilize and fragment the Los Zetas.


title: Wayne Knight

text: Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played Newman on "Seinfeld" (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on "3rd Rock from the Sun" (1996–2001). He also voiced Igor on "Toonsylvania" (1998–1999), Mr. Blik on "Catscratch" (2005–2007) and Baron Von Sheldgoose on "Legend of the Three Caballeros" (2018).


title: Wayne Knight

text: In film, he played Dennis Nedry in "Jurassic Park" (1993), which earned him a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. He also portrayed Pete "Piccolo" Dugan in "Dead Again" (1991), John Correli in "Basic Instinct" (1992), Stan Podolak in "Space Jam" (1996) and Zach Mallozzi in "Rat Race" (2001) and provided the voices of Tantor in "Tarzan" (1999), Al McWhiggin in "Toy Story 2" (1999) and The Elf Elder in "" (2014).


title: Wayne Knight

text: Wayne Elliot Knight was born on August 7, 1955, in New York City to a Catholic family. They moved to Cartersville, Georgia, where his father worked in the textile industry. Knight went to local schools and was a lineman on his high school's football team. He attended the University of Georgia but did not complete his degree until 2008.


title: Wayne Knight

text: Although an honours student, Knight left college just one credit shy of completing his degree to pursue his acting career. He received an internship at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, which produced repertory works. After completing his internship, he joined the company and gained standing as an Equity actor. He subsequently moved to New York City and after two years landed his first role on Broadway.


title: Wayne Knight

text: Knight appeared in various films produced at the end of the 1980s, and beginning of the 1990s, including "Dirty Dancing" (1987), "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989), "JFK" (1991) and "Basic Instinct" (1992). He was the first actor cast in "Jurassic Park" after director Steven Spielberg saw his performance in "Basic Instinct". Knight was cast as InGen Corporation's chief programmer for the park and secret spy for Biosyn, Dennis Nedry.


title: Wayne Knight

text: He also appeared in "Dead Again", "To Die For", and "Space Jam". In the 1990s, Knight played supporting roles on two television series on NBC. He played the mailman Newman, Jerry's neighbour and nemesis in "Seinfeld", and Officer Don Orville, Sally's love interest, in "3rd Rock from the Sun". He had earlier appeared in "Against the Grain". He also appeared as a regular on two sketch comedy series, "The Edge" for Fox and "Assaulted Nuts" for Cinemax and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.


title: Wayne Knight

text: Knight also appeared on Broadway in the plays "Gemini", "Mastergate", "'Art'" and "Sweet Charity" with Christina Applegate.


title: Wayne Knight

text: Knight has done voice work for numerous animations, including the black cat Mr. Blik on the Nickelodeon cartoon "Catscratch", Igor on the Fox Kids cartoon "Toonsylvania", the dragon Dojo Kanojo Cho in the Kids' WB! animated series "Xiaolin Showdown", Evil Emperor Zurg on "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" on Toon Disney and Disney Channel; Al McWhiggin, the toy store manager of Al's Toy Barn, in "Toy Story 2"; Tantor the elephant in "Tarzan", Demetrius the shopkeeper in "Hercules", and the bug Juju on "Tak and the Power of Juju". He made guest appearances on "Billy & Mandy's Jacked-Up Halloween" as Jack O'Lantern, "Dilbert" as the Security Guard, and "Brandy and Mr. Whiskers" as Mr. Cantarious the snail.


title: Wayne Knight

text: Knight appeared on the pilot episode of the American version of "Thank God You're Here". He made a second appearance, on the last episode of the first season of the television series. He won the "Thank God You're Here" blue door award. He played the Punisher's techno sidekick Microchip in "Punisher: War Zone". Knight guest starred in "The Penguins of Madagascar" as Max the Cat, in the episodes "Launchtime" and "Cat's Cradle".


title: Wayne Knight

text: In November 2009, Knight reprised his role as the "Seinfeld" character Newman, for the seventh season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm". He also guest starred on "" Season 10, Episode "Working Stiffs".


title: Wayne Knight

text: Knight guest starred on a 2010 episode of Fox's drama series "Bones", in the first season of the TV Land comedy series "Hot in Cleveland" (2010), where he became a recurring character for season two, and on an episode of "The Whole Truth" in the fall of 2010. He played an Internet fixated couch potato in the TV Land sitcom, "The Exes". In the summer of 2011, he appeared in the BBC/Starz series "" as Brian Friedkin.


title: Wayne Knight

text: Knight appeared as Santa in "" in November 2012. He previously appeared on Broadway in "Art" in 1999. In April 2012, Knight was featured in the romantic comedy, "She Wants Me". In February 2014, Knight reprised the character Newman, during one commercial during the Super Bowl, alongside Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander. In December 2017, Knight was featured in an advertisement for KFC depicting Colonel Sanders.


title: Wayne Knight

text: Knight married makeup artist Paula Sutor on May 26, 1996, in a ceremony held in fellow "Seinfeld" cast member Michael Richards's home. They had divorced by December 2003. He married his second wife Clare de Chenu on October 15, 2006; together they have a son, Liam. The family lives in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, an area where Knight has resided for many years.


title: Wayne Knight

text: Knight was in attendance at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Ahead of the 2020 United States presidential election, Knight appeared in an advertisement that examined "ethical breaches" of mail workers in the US and lack of support they received from the government. The advertisement was in support of the Democratic Party and Anti-Trump.


title: Josh Dallas

text: Joshua Paul Dallas (born December 18, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Prince Charming/David Nolan in the ABC television series "Once Upon a Time" and as Ben Stone in the NBC/Netflix sci-fi drama series "Manifest".


title: Josh Dallas

text: After graduation at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in England, Dallas joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, and then took part with the Royal National Theatre, English National Opera, the New Shakespeare Company, and the Young Vic.


title: Josh Dallas

text: Returning to the United States, he was cast as Fandral in "Thor" after Irish actor Stuart Townsend withdrew from the role days before filming was to begin. As he was a virtually unknown actor when cast, there was some speculation that Dallas was selected because there simply was not enough time to find a bigger-name replacement. To prepare for the role, Dallas viewed Errol Flynn as an inspiration (Stan Lee, in 1965, created the character based on Flynn), and watched many of his films. He commented, "I tried to bring out that little bit of Flynn-ness in it. Flynn had a lot of that boyish charm and Fandral's got all that in him." Dallas did not reprise his role in the . Zachary Levi replaced him in the subsequent two films.


title: Josh Dallas

text: In 2011, he began starring in the ABC series "Once Upon a Time" as Prince Charming. After six seasons, Dallas did not appear in season 7 in 2017. He returned for its series finale the following year. From 2018 to 2023, he was cast as Ben Stone, the male lead, in the NBC mystery/drama series "Manifest", which premiered on September 24, 2018.


title: Josh Dallas

text: Dallas was born in Louisville, Kentucky.He met British actress Lara Pulver in 2003 while working at the Johanna, Windsor. They married in 2007, and were divorced in 2011.


title: Josh Dallas

text: After separating from Pulver, Dallas started dating his "Once Upon a Time" co-star Ginnifer Goodwin. Dallas and Goodwin became engaged in October 2013, and married on April 12, 2014 in California. Together, they have two children.