This Stratfor article discusses the implications of that threat. The Zetas have a history of kidnapping and killing journalists, and recently they have killed a number of bloggers in a very visible and grisly manner. Since it is anticipated that the cartel will retaliate against Anonymous if possible this is obviously a dangerous move for the hacker group. Also, if Anonymous does post names they will obviously be in danger. Regardless, blood will be shed.
Anonymous uses the mask from the movie V for Vendetta as their symbol. Since I didn't want to post a bald Natalie Portman I searched for another movie about Guy Fawkes and found the silent film Guy Fawkes. The female lead for the film is Nina Vanna, and so she gets the honor of being this article's Hot Stratfor Babe.
Nina Vanna was a Russian who moved to England and had an active career in silent film between 1923 - 1927. She then retired from film, although she did return for a small part in the 1937 film The Show Goes On. There is little other information about her.
I also couldn't find a clip of her for the usual bonus video after the article. Instead, I've embedded a short film that gives an overview of Guido "Guy" Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.
Anonymous vs. Zetas Amid Mexico's Cartel Violence
By Scott Stewart, Nov 2 2011
The online activist collective Anonymous posted a message on the Internet on Oct. 31 saying it would continue its campaign against Mexican criminal cartels and their government supporters despite the risks.
The message urged inexperienced activists, who might not be practicing proper online security measures, to abstain from participating. It also urged individuals associated with Anonymous in Mexico not to conduct physical pamphlet drops, participate in protests, wear or purchase Guy Fawkes masks, or use Guy Fawkes imagery in their Internet or physical-world activities. Guy Fawkes was a British Roman Catholic conspirator involved in a plot to bomb the British Parliament on Nov. 5, 1605. The British celebrate the plot’s failure as Guy Fawkes Day each Nov. 5. In modern times, the day has come to have special meaning for anarchists. Since 2006, the style of the Guy Fawkes mask used in the movie “V for Vendetta” has become something of an anarchist icon in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
It was no coincidence, then, that in an Oct. 6 video Anonymous activists set Nov. 5 as the deadline for Los Zetas to release an Anonymous associate allegedly kidnapped in Veracruz. The associate reportedly was abducted during an Anonymous leaflet campaign called “Operation Paperstorm.”
The Oct. 31 message acknowledged that the operation against Los Zetas, dubbed “Operation Cartel,” would be dangerous. It noted that some members of the collective would form a group of trusted associates to participate in a special task force to execute the operation. It asked supporters to pass information pertaining to drug trafficking to the Operation Cartel task force for publication on the Internet via a software tool developed by Anonymous that permits the anonymous passing of information.
When discussing Anonymous, it is important to remember that Anonymous is not a hierarchical organization, but rather a collective of activists. Individuals who choose to associate themselves with the collective frequently disagree over issues addressed by the collective and are free to choose which actions to support and/or participate in.
With Nov. 5 approaching, and at least some elements of Anonymous not backing down on their threats to Los Zetas, we thought it would be useful to provide some context to the present conflict between Anonymous and Los Zetas and to address some of its potential implications.
Context
The Mexican port city of Veracruz has been the epicenter of this event. Veracruz has been a busy place over the past few months in terms of Mexico’s cartel wars. The port serves as a critical transportation hub for Los Zetas narcotics smuggling. Because of this, STRATFOR has identified Veracruz as a bellwether for determining Los Zetas’ trajectory in the coming months.
In a major recent development in Veracruz, the Sinaloa cartel began an offensive into the Zetas stronghold using the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), which, under the name “Matazetas” (Spanish for “Zeta killers”), conducted high-profile body dumps of more than 50 alleged low-level Zetas operatives on Sept. 20 and Sept. 22. On Oct. 25, Mexican marines arrested Carlos Arturo Pitalua-Carillo, also known as “El Bam Bam,” who was the Zetas’ plaza boss in Veracruz. The Zetas in Veracruz thus are feeling pressure from both the Mexican government and the CJNG. [continued after the jump]
