The U.S. Department of the Treasury Sanctioned Four Individuals and 11 Entities Tied to Cartel del Noreste

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four individuals and 11 entities connected to Cartel del Noreste on October 13, 2026. A statement the same day by Department of State Spokesman Thomas "Tommy" Pigott said those sanctioned had been involved in quarter horse racing, construction, trucking, and the oil and gas sectors. Cartel del Noreste is abbreviated CDN. The Office of Foreign Assets Control is abbreviated OFAC. The Treasury press release said those designated included individuals and businesses involved in quarter horse racing, construction, trucking, and the oil and gas sector. The Department of State described CDN as a Mexico-based organization, and the Treasury said CDN evolved from its predecessor, Los Zetas. The description of Los Zetas and the assessment of CDN's threat are presented here as the Treasury press release stated them.

https://x.com/USTreasury/status/2110020218349064382

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the action exposed CDN's exploitation of the horse racing sector to launder illicit proceeds and finance cartel operations. Bessent said the action marked Treasury's most significant effort to date to disrupt CDN's financial infrastructure. The most significant effort phrase is presented here as Bessent said it. Bessent said Treasury, in close coordination with its law enforcement partners, remained committed to protecting the U.S. financial system from misuse by violent cartels. The Department of State statement said the United States would pursue every CDN leader, financier, and business partner, and that there was no safe haven for those who finance or profit from CDN's violence and destruction. That sentence is presented here as the Department of State stated it.

The Treasury also described where CDN's stronghold sits. According to the Treasury press release, CDN's stronghold sits directly across the border from Laredo, Texas. Laredo is the busiest port of entry on the southern border, and nearly 40 percent of all commercial traffic between the United States and Mexico crosses there, the Treasury said. The nearly 40 percent figure is a figure in the Treasury press release. The Treasury said CDN's deep entrenchment in cross-border industries, combined with its ability to infiltrate local governments, steer public contracts, and manipulate regional elections, undermines legitimate authority and destabilizes communities on both sides of the border. The account of public contracts and elections is presented here as the Treasury press release stated it.

The legal basis consisted of two executive orders. The Department of State and the Treasury said the action was taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14059 and E.O. 13224, as amended. E.O. 14059 targets the international proliferation of illicit drugs and their means of production, and E.O. 13224, as amended, targets terrorists and their supporters, the two departments said. The word terrorists should be read here as attributed to the executive order and the designation. The Department of State said it designated CDN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on February 20, 2025. Foreign Terrorist Organization is abbreviated FTO, and Specially Designated Global Terrorist is abbreviated SDGT. The OFAC action that followed is a financial sanctions action and should not be described as a criminal charge. The Treasury and the Department of State explained a designation as an administrative action that leads to the blocking of property in the United States and property controlled by U.S. persons, together with a prohibition on transactions.

https://x.com/statedeptspox/status/2110062585534140618

The Treasury said the action was OFAC's fourth and largest action to date targeting CDN networks during the Trump Administration. On May 21, 2025, OFAC designated two high-ranking members and arms traffickers of CDN, the Treasury said. On August 6, 2025, OFAC designated three high-ranking members and one associate of CDN, including the narco-rapper El Makabelico, the Treasury said. On April 14, 2026, OFAC designated three entities and three associates of CDN, including Casino Centenario, a casino just miles from the U.S. border, and Juan Pablo Penilla Rodriguez, a criminal advisor to CDN, the Treasury said. That timeline is the record of earlier designations presented in the Treasury press release. The Treasury said OFAC had taken nearly 40 actions against over 500 individuals and entities since the beginning of 2025, in close coordination with the Homeland Security Task Force. The nearly 40 actions and over 500 figures are also figures in the Treasury press release.

Horse racing stood at the front of the action. The Treasury said CDN had a long history of money laundering through the American Quarter Horse racing industry. Between 2008 and 2012, Z-40 and Z-42 bought and sold racehorses with drug money and trained and raced them in the United States, according to the Treasury. Z-40 is the alias of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales and Z-42 is the alias of Oscar Omar Trevino Morales, the Treasury said. Over a 30-month period, Zetas-affiliated front persons and shell companies spent $16 million in New Mexico, Oklahoma, California, and Texas to support the operation and laundered upwards of $22 million for the cartel, the Treasury said. In June 2012, the U.S. Government seized 455 horses at an Oklahoma horse farm, racing venues, and training farms, the Treasury said. The dollar amounts and the 455 horses figure are the earlier record the Treasury press release presented.

https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/2110020960858304649

Club La Molienda was designated this time. The Treasury described La Molienda as a horse racetrack, restaurant, and bar on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo and said it was controlled by CDN. La Molienda is the most prominent racetrack in Nuevo Laredo, generates revenue for CDN, and charges entrance fees for those racing their horses at the track as well as for spectators, the Treasury said. CDN leaders and members purchase horses, including many from the United States, to race at La Molienda, the Treasury said. La Molienda is controlled by Z-40 but is ultimately overseen by various CDN leaders and associates while Z-40 is incarcerated in the United States, the Treasury said. Before a successful bilateral U.S.-Mexico action in April 2026 suspended operations of Casino Centenario, La Molienda and Casino Centenario entered a strategic gambling partnership allowing people to bet on races at La Molienda from the premises of Casino Centenario, the Treasury said. OFAC designated La Molienda pursuant to E.O. 14059 and pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, CDN, the Treasury said.