After reports that a member of the group behind the operation, called OpCartel, had announced that it was scrapped, a vote was held by everyone involved, and it was decided to proceed with the action, according to Barrett Brown, who is often the public face of Anonymous.

Brown maintained that OpCartel members were proceeding carefully, not only to protect themselves, but to insure that they identify the right people when they make their public disclosures. "It's a very careful process," he contended.

For any Anonymous members concerned that the drug cartel, known as Los Zetas, will hunt down and kill them, "this isn't the movement for them," .

OpCartel has given Los Zetas until Saturday to release an Anonymous member allegedly kidnapped by the cartel in the Mexican state of Veracruz earlier this month. If that doesn't happen, the group says it will post to the Internet the names and addresses of people associated with the cartel. The kidnap happened while the Anonymous member was handing out flyers in something Anonymous calls Operation Paperstorm. posted to YouTube purporting to explain Operation Paperstorm.