[mikkupikku]

Lots of organized crime around the world manages to operate without cutting all the limbs off somebody then arranging them like flowers in a "vase" made out of the poor soul's ribcage. The cartels take violence far beyond what is pragmatically necessary. Their system of crime breeds excessive violence and insanity.

[xkcd-sucks]

Marketing, if you don't know the answer it's always marketing

[AlotOfReading]

This stuff mostly followed after the zetas. It was a very deliberate strategy to compete in a hostile landscape that others eventually copied to survive.

[anigbrowl]

It's notable that a lot of the Zetas came from a military special forces background, making it seem as if their extreme brutality was a strategic choice inculcated during their training.

https://ctc.westpoint.edu/a-profile-of-los-zetas-mexicos-sec...