From Racetracks To Rigs: U.S. Freezes Cross-Border Network Tied To Mexican Drug Cartel
- On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions against four people and 11 businesses tied to Cartel del Noreste, calling the action the "most significant effort to date to disrupt Cartel del Noreste's financial infrastructure."
- Operating from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, across from Laredo, Texas, Cartel del Noreste functions as an offshoot of Los Zetas, leveraging control over a port that handles nearly 40 percent of commercial trade between the nations.
- Federal officials identified Club La Molienda as a central hub for laundering funds through admission fees and wagers, while firms including CEGESA and COPASA allegedly secured public works contracts in Tamaulipas to direct money into political campaigns.
- The Office of Foreign Assets Control penalties freeze U.S.-held property belonging to the targeted individuals and businesses, generally prohibiting Americans from conducting business with the sanctioned entities.
- Representing the federal government's fourth and largest financial enforcement round against the cartel since early 2025, the action involved the Homeland Security Task Force and Mexico's Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera.
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28 Articles
US sanctions Mexican cartel CDN's horse-racing, business network
MEXICO CITY, Oct 13 - The US Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned four people and 11 entities tied to the Cartel del Noreste (CDN), targeting a business network spanning horse racing, construction, trucking and the energy sector that Washington says helped finance the Mexican criminal group. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Four people and 11 companies linked to the Northeast Cartel are sanctioned by OFAC.
"The sanctioned individuals and entities have been involved in horse racing, construction, freight transport, and the oil and gas sectors, facilitating CDN operations, including the movement of illicit proceeds," the State Department statement detailed. The Treasury Department released the names of those sanctioned, including Pablo Guajardo, alias "El Takia," and Francisco Inzunza, alias "Pancho Amador." The entities, most of which are based i…
The United States Government applied financial sanctions against four individuals and 11 entities linked to the Northeast Cartel
The Treasury Department points to Gamaliel Garza for allegedly laundering money with his businesses in Nuevo Laredo. He also accuses Pablo César Guajardo, alias ‘Takia’, as head of the square in that city
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