I covered the bloodshed back then: the kidnappings, extortion, commando style hits. And I also covered the fallout: families fled to the Texas side of the border, businesses closed tourists stayed away.

"They didn't give a rat's ass about anything when they were out there killing people. We'd wake up in the morning and there would be a body here. Next week there'd be a body down the street," Jack Suneson, owner of Marti's recalls. His store caters tourist offering a wide variety of hand crafted artisan work from throughout Mexico. ""We've lost 2 or 3 generations of shoppers coming to Nuevo Laredo."

I met Jack during Nuevo Laredo's dark days in 2004-2005. When I returned to Nuevo Laredo recently the Festival Tamaulipas was in full swing featuring singers, dancers, musical groups from Mexico and other countries. When we visited a ballet company from Serbia was performing that night. On another day, the Glenn Miller Orchestra took the stage.

On the surface it seems life has returned to normal in Nuevo Laredo and it has in many ways. "Alquien esta poniendo la paz," a shopkeeper a block from the border told me. Translation: somebody has restored peace. But like most in this border town he will not say it: that Nuevo Laredo is quiet because the Zetas won control. "They rule by fear now, no more by violence as far as Nuevo Laredo is concerned," said Suneson.

"They've evolved into a multidimensional criminal organization. They're doing all kinds of things beyond what a regular cartel will do," a senior DEA official told me recently. He's an expert on the Zetas.

Through brute force the Zetas earned the right to charge a "piso" or a fee for contraband smuggled through their territory. "Anything they can get some money on they're going to be involved n," explained Laredo Police Detective Robert Garcia.

He has investigated Zeta crimes on the Texas side of the border including a notorious teenaged hit man case. Detective Garcia says the Zetas even charge a "piso" to small street vendors peddling hotdogs on a corner.

Nuevo Laredo is a prized "plaza" or center of operation. While you can't get people to openly talk about the Zetas, the group's rise is chronicled in narco corridos and you tube videos. Online and on the street, the Zetas are commonly referred to now as "La Compania," the company. And Nuevo Laredo is clearly a company town.

During a recent visit, we were watched constantly by "halcones, " lookouts who report back to the cartel. They're usually young teens or men who monitor the comings and goings in border towns.

I nearly bumped into a group of 3 as I was leaving a convenience store.The young men watched my colleague photographer Hugo Perez who was shooting some general street scenes. One of the gangly youths used huge radios to call in their observations.

Earlier in the day right after we did an interview with the mayor, a couple of local reporters approached me to ask a few questions about who I was and what story we were working on at that moment. One wanted to interview us.

You might think this was merely a professional courtesy or curiosity. I am not convinced. I know the cartels sometimes rely on reporters to do their bidding. Some have served as spokespeople who dictate coverage to local media. These days most media censor themselves to avoid attracting the Zeta's wrath.

I checked and found out later that day one of the journalists is not to be trusted. I had politely declined the "interview." After all, we were in a rush to finish our stories.

"Nuevo Laredo right now is quiet but the damage has been done," Jack Suneson said. He has not given up on his hometown though. Marti's is still open but often empty. Suneson did open a brand new store in downtown San Antonio to cater to tourists who are still afraid to cross the border.