Thirteen years after his death in Progreso, Coahuila, following a confrontation with members of the Navy (Semar), Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, the late leader of Los Zetas, was no longer remembered in the Church of the Assumption, in the El Tezontle neighborhood of Pachuca, as was customary every year.
In previous years, during the celebration of Candlemas on February 2, the Church of the Assumption displayed floral arrangements bearing Heriberto Lazcano’s name on its façade. His photograph was also displayed, and in October 2020, a banner with his face against a navy blue background was put up to invite people to mass for the eighth anniversary of his death. It stated that El Lazca was the benefactor of the church.
However, this Tuesday, October 7, the church, in addition to being closed, did not display any floral arrangements in memory of him, nor did it display a photograph, nor were any people invited to any Mass for the thirteenth anniversary of his death. The last Mass celebrated at the Church of the Assumption for the death of Z-3 was on October 7, 2020.
Inside the church, after its inauguration in November 2009, there was a plaque that read: “John Paul the Second Evangelization and Catechesis Center, donated by Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano. Lord, hear my prayer, attend to my prayers, answer me, you who are faithful and just. Psalm 143.” The plaque was later removed.
A Saint Jude Thaddeus and a Sacred Heart of Jesus flank the entrance to the church after passing through the brown arched doors. The pews are arranged in two rows; In the background, in the atrium, is the Virgin of the Assumption, a Christ on the cross, and, on the ceiling, a blue stained-glass window of the Holy Spirit. Light filters through the arched, uncurtained windows.
Outside, in front of the church, unlike other years, a market now houses a small esplanade where local residents sell everything from bread, dishes, food, and even clothing. This year, there is nothing in the church to commemorate El Verdugo.
On one side of the El Tezontle neighborhood is the San Francisco Ejidal Pantheon; it houses the mausoleum that Heriberto Lazcano ordered built before his death, where the remains of his mother, Amelia Lazcano, rest. Flowers were not placed there either.
