U.S. Sanctions Mexican Cartel’s Horse Racing and Business Network
Treasury said the network laundered more than $22 million through quarter-horse racing and related businesses, and froze U.S. assets of 15 targets.
- 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.
61 Articles
61 Articles
US sanctions horse racing network tied to the Northeast Cartel
In a new round of sanctions, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has targeted a horse racing enterprise allegedly run by the Cartel del Noreste (Northeast Cartel) as well as the group’s broader criminal network. Treasury announced on Tuesday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had sanctioned four individuals and eleven entities connected to the Cartel del Noreste (CDN), a Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas-based criminal group that was design…
Ex-OFAC Official: The Cartel Risk Companies Can’t See
Ex-OFAC Official: The Cartel Risk Companies Can’t See | The InSight Take Claire McCleskey, former head of compliance at the US Treasury’s OFAC, on what the cartel terrorist designations really change for companies — and why counter-terrorism tools may not fit criminal groups embedded in legitimate business.
U.S. sanctions Mexican cartel’s horse racing and business network
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a horse racing operation and a business network accused of financing Mexico’s Cartel del Noreste and laundering its proceeds. The action targets four people and 11 entities involved in horse racing, construction, trucking and the oil and gas industry. The sanctions announced Tuesday include Club La Molienda, a racetrack, […]
The U.S. Treasury Department detailed a scheme of money laundering of the Northeast Cartel through quarter mile horse racing
The financial authorities of Mexico and the United States blocked the bank accounts and access to the assets of four people and 11 companies to which the Treasury Department pointed out to have links with the Northeastern Cartel (CDN), and to participate in businesses such as quarter mile horse racing, construction, road transport, the oil and gas sector, and also to have financed electoral campaigns.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
