Cartel Del Noreste: What We Know After US Sanctions
ANALYSIS · MEXICO
Key Facts
- —The country Mexico borders Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, and the cartel operates mainly in the northern states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo León.
- —Why it matters The Cartel del Noreste has its stronghold in Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas, where nearly 40 percent of US-Mexico commercial traffic crosses.
- —Why now On Tuesday 13 October the US Treasury hit the group with its largest sanctions package yet, aimed at its money rather than its gunmen.
- —What happened Four people and 11 entities were blacklisted, including a Nuevo Laredo racetrack, builders, fuel firms and a trucking company.
- —The numbers This is the fourth Treasury action against the cartel since May 2025, within nearly 40 cartel actions covering over 500 targets since January 2025.
- —What it means for you US companies and banks must block any assets of the listed names and stop dealing with them, or face civil or criminal penalties.
- —Still open Which politicians allegedly received cartel campaign cash is not public, and Mexico says its own financial intelligence unit has no evidence yet.
- —Power Index Mexico ranks 2nd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 71.4 points (October 2026 edition).
The Cartel del Noreste, the Los Zetas offshoot based in Nuevo Laredo, faces the biggest US financial strike yet against it. On Tuesday 13 October the Treasury Department sanctioned four people and 11 entities it ties to the group.
For Americans the group is not a distant problem, because its home base sits directly across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas. Laredo is the busiest port of entry on the southern border, carrying nearly 40 percent of all commercial traffic between the two countries.
This explainer sets out who the cartel is and what Washington alleges. It follows our news report, US Sanctions 11 Firms Tied to a Mexican Cartel, and draws on the Treasury release and sanctions list.
How the Cartel Del Noreste Grew Out of Los Zetas
Los Zetas carried out some of the deadliest mass-casualty attacks in Mexican history, according to the US Treasury. Treasury describes the Cartel del Noreste, known by its Spanish initials CDN, as the same group under a new name.
The group was founded by the brothers Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, known as Z-40, and Óscar Omar Treviño Morales, known as Z-42. Mexico arrested them in 2013 and 2015, but Treasury says they kept control through corrupt lawyers.
Mexico transferred both brothers to the United States in February 2025. They face drug trafficking, racketeering, firearms and money laundering charges in Washington, DC, with life imprisonment the maximum sentence.
The Zetas legacy explains why Washington calls the CDN a terrorist group rather than only a drug gang. Treasury recalls the arson attack on a Monterrey casino on Thursday 25 August 2011, which killed 52 people, most of them women.
Washington has layered its legal tools on the group over 17 years. It named Los Zetas a narcotics kingpin organisation in April 2009 and a transnational criminal organisation in July 2011.
Treasury then sanctioned the CDN itself in December 2021 under an executive order on illicit drugs. On Thursday 20 February 2025 the State Department designated it a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
The cartel traffics fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana and cocaine, according to Treasury. Its power, however, rests just as much on controlling a busy border city and its money.
What the US Treasury Sanctioned on 13 October
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Treasury unit that enforces US sanctions, announced the package on Tuesday. It covers businesses in quarter horse racing, construction, trucking and the oil and gas trade.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called it his department’s most significant effort to date to disrupt the cartel’s financial infrastructure. He said the action “exposes Cartel del Noreste’s exploitation of the horse racing sector to launder illicit proceeds and finance cartel operations.”
It is the fourth and largest action against CDN networks under President Donald Trump, who has pledged to eliminate the cartels. Earlier rounds came on 21 May 2025, 6 August 2025 and 14 April 2026.
The April round hit Casino Centenario, a casino a few miles from the border, and the lawyer Treasury calls the cartel’s criminal adviser. That day Mexico’s financial intelligence unit acted against the network, and the Interior Ministry suspended the casino and related businesses.
Treasury says OFAC coordinated this and earlier CDN cases with Mexico’s Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), the finance ministry’s anti-laundering unit. The probe ran alongside a US Homeland Security Task Force supported by the DEA, the FBI and other agencies.
Horse Racing, Construction and Campaign Cash
Between 2008 and 2012, Treasury says, Zetas front men spent US$16 million in four US states on racehorses and laundered over US$22 million. In June 2012 US authorities seized 455 horses at an Oklahoma horse farm, racing venues and training farms.
The new centrepiece is Club La Molienda, a racetrack, restaurant and bar on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo. Treasury says Z-40 controls it, while other cartel leaders oversee it during his imprisonment in the United States.
The most politically sensitive charge concerns Gamaliel Garza García, a businessman and racehorse owner whom Treasury calls a cartel associate. Treasury alleges the cartel used his construction firm CEGESA, based in Anáhuac, Nuevo León, to fund campaigns of its preferred candidates.
Treasury also says CEGESA corruptly won public works contracts from the city of Nuevo Laredo and the state of Tamaulipas. It then allegedly subcontracted the work to cartel-linked people, while a sister firm called COPASA supplied the materials.
His son, Gamaliel Garza Elías, was listed for running CEGESA day to day and for delivering cash to campaigns. Six more fuel, gas and construction firms in Nuevo Laredo that the father owns and controls were also listed.
The list also names Pablo César Guajardo Álvarez, alias “Takia,” whom Treasury describes as the current CDN plaza boss of Nuevo Laredo. A trucking company, Tamex, and one of its dispatchers were included over two cocaine loads totalling 52 kilograms hidden in trailer brake drums.
A sanctions listing is an administrative measure, not a criminal conviction. Those named can petition Treasury to be removed from the list.
How Mexico Has Responded
President Claudia Sheinbaum, of the governing left-wing Morena party, rejected the campaign finance claims at her morning press conference on Wednesday 14 October. She said Washington had not handed over evidence and that the UIF had found none.
“When the UIF does not find evidence, it is only a sanction by the United States,” she said, in remarks quoted by El Financiero. She repeated her standing request that US officials share proof whenever they allege links between Mexicans and organised crime.
Mexican outlets such as Aristegui Noticias and Zócalo have focused on the contracts and elections claims. Neither Treasury nor these outlets has named any politician who allegedly received money.
For wider context, see our guides Mexico Security and Crime Explained 2026 and Mexico Politics Explained, Who Holds Power in 2026. Readers in the north can also consult our Monterrey City Guide for Expats and Visitors.
What It Means for You
Any US-held property of the listed people or firms is now frozen and must be reported to OFAC. Companies they own 50 percent or more of, alone or together, are blocked as well.
US persons, including American banks, suppliers and horse traders, are generally barred from any dealings with them unless licensed. Penalties can be civil or criminal, and OFAC can impose civil fines even without proof of intent.
Foreign banks face a separate risk, because the terrorism listing allows secondary sanctions on lenders that handle significant transactions. Mexican banks with US correspondent accounts therefore have a strong reason to cut off the names quickly.
For travellers and cross-border firms, the sanctions target named people and companies, not the border crossings themselves. Our earlier report Mexico Cartels Push Laredo Rental Car Thefts Up 50% covers a related cartel risk in Laredo.
What Is Not Known
Treasury has not said which candidates, parties or elections received the alleged cartel money. It also has not said when the payments took place or how large they were.
It is unclear whether Mexico will freeze accounts or suspend La Molienda as it did with Casino Centenario. The value of the frozen assets in the United States, if any, has not been disclosed.
No criminal charges against the four people listed on Tuesday have been announced in either country. Their lawyers have not commented publicly in the sources reviewed for this explainer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Cartel del Noreste?
It is a Mexican criminal group that grew out of Los Zetas and controls Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas. The US designated it a Foreign Terrorist Organization on 20 February 2025.
Who leads the cartel?
It was founded by the brothers Miguel Ángel and Óscar Omar Treviño Morales, known as Z-40 and Z-42. Both are now held in the United States, but Treasury says Z-40 still controls the La Molienda racetrack.
What did the US sanction on 13 October?
OFAC listed four people and 11 entities, including a racetrack, construction and fuel firms and a trucking company. Treasury called it its largest action yet against the cartel’s finances.
Did the cartel fund Mexican election campaigns?
Treasury alleges that a construction firm linked to the cartel funnelled money to its preferred candidates. It has not named them, and President Sheinbaum says Mexico has seen no evidence.
Can Americans do business with the sanctioned firms?
No, US persons are generally barred from dealing with them and must block any of their property. Violations can lead to civil or criminal penalties.
Sources: US Department of the Treasury, press release of 13 October 2026, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0656; OFAC, recent actions and SDN List update of 13 October 2026, https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20261013; El Financiero, Sheinbaum morning press conference, 14 October 2026, https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/nacional/2026/10/14/claudia-sheinbaum-mananera-temas-hoy-14-de-octubre-de-2026-en-vivo/; Aristegui Noticias, 13 October 2026, https://aristeguinoticias.com/1310/mundo/eeuu-sanciona-red-financiera-del-cartel-del-noreste-influia-en-contratos-y-elecciones-en-mexico/; Zócalo, 14 October 2026, https://www.zocalo.com.mx/eu-sanciona-a-4-personas-y-11-empresas-vinculadas-al-cartel-del-noreste-por-lavado-de-dinero/.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief