| “ | Narco tanks are constructed to do two things: protect their cargo and take a beating.
— howstuffworks.com
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A narco tank, also know as rhino truck or monsturo (Spanish for "monster"), is an improvised armored combat vehicle made and used by drug cartels and gangs such as the Los Zetas and Gulf Cartel in the Mexican Drug War. Narco tanks are custom built vehicles, typically consisting of semi trucks, SUVs, or other large vehicles fitted with heavy steel plating and sometimes bulletproof glass windows, and are equipped with gun ports for small arms. Some narco tanks even carry revolving turrets for use with assault or sniper rifles, or, in a few cases, even mounted .50 caliber sniper rifles or machine guns.
In addition to firearms, some narco tanks featured other weapons, including rams attached to the front o the vehicle, and in the case of one example, devices for dropping nails and oil slicks and creating a smoke screen. The armor of the narco tank varies depending on the vehicle, as each one is custom-built, but may range from 8-25mm of steel, making them resistant to standard small arms fire and, in the case of heavier narco tanks, .50 caliber and 40mm grenade rounds.
While gangs and drug cartels in Mexico had used vehicles modified with bulletproof armor and glass since at least the 1990s, the narco tanks that became infamous in the media, those intended for use as offensive weapons, first appeared around 2010 or 2011. The heyday of the Narco tanks, at least in the form for which they are most infamous, did not last long, as both the Mexican Army and rival cartels started making use of anti-tank rockets to destroy the vehicles, and many that were not destroyed were seized in military or police raids. While Narco tanks were observed as late as 2015, the large, heavily armed Narco tanks have fallen out of favor, replaced by smaller vehicles such as vans and pickup trucks with lighter armor and hidden weapons, which can both move more quickly and retain the outward appearance of a civilian vehicle.
Battle vs. Killdozer (by SPARTAN 119)[]
A Los Zetas "Narco Tank" rolled through the streets of a Mexican city, Spanish rap music blaring from inside the vehicle. Suddenly, a building on the side of the road collapses, revealing a heavily armored.
Marvin Heemeyer, the disgrunted mechanic who built and went on a rampage with the "Killdozer" is confused as to how he was in Granby, Colorado, about to commit suicide one moment after having the bulldozer trapped and getting surrounded by police one moment, and in the next, somewhere that looked like Mexico, but that though was removed from his mind as he heard the pinging of rounds off the armor of "The Killdozer".
The Los Zetas thugs fired their weapons at the armored bulldozer from the gun ports on the "Narco Tank", to no effect. The rounds simply bounced off the thick armor. The operator of the "Killdozer" returned fire with the mounted FN FNC, causing no damage to the Narco tank.
The "Killdozer turned towards the "Narco Tank", firing its Barret .50 as it moved towards the "Narco Tank". The Los Zetas realized they were in trouble and turned tail and retreated, hoping to call in for backup.
As the cartel turned a corner onto another side street, however, the "Killdozer" smashed through the wall of another building, cutting off the "Narco Tank's" escape.
The dozer turned toward to Los Zetas vehicle and struck it in the side with the dozer blade hard enough to turn the vehicle on its side. Heemeyer fired several rounds from the Barret .50 cal rifle into the unarmored bottom of the truck, one of the rounds hitting fuel tank and causing it to explode, reducing the "Narco Tank" to a flaming wreck.
WINNER: "THE KILLDOZER"
Expert's Opinion[]
The Killdozer won due to being an armored tank, as opposed to the Narco Tank which was little more than a homemade APC. Additionally, the Killdozer driver had a Barrett .50 rifle which easily ripped into the armor of the Narco Tank.