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 designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government in February 2025.
“Those designated include individuals and businesses involved in quarter horse racing, construction, trucking, and the oil and gas sector, highlighting the cartel’s diverse commercial footprint,” Treasury said in a statement.
“… CDN has a long history of money laundering through the American Quarter Horse racing industry,” the department said.
“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,” Treasury said, referring to Miguel Angel “Z-40” Treviño Morales and Óscar Omar “Z-42” Treviño Morales, brothers and founders of the CDN, which grew out of the notorious Los Zetas crime group.
“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,” Treasury said.
“In June 2012, the U.S. Government seized 455 horses at an Oklahoma horse farm, racing venues, and training farms. CDN’s involvement in horse racing continues to this day.”
One of the 11 sanctioned entities is Club La Molienda, described by Treasury as “a horse racetrack, restaurant, and bar located on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo that is controlled by CDN.”
“As the most prominent racetrack in Nuevo Laredo, La Molienda generates revenue for CDN, charging entrance fees for those racing their horses at the track as well as for spectators,” the department said.
“CDN leaders and members purchase horses, including many from the United States, to race at La Molienda. 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.”
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the sanctioning of individuals and entities connected to the CDN “exposes Cartel del Noreste’s exploitation of the horse racing sector to launder illicit proceeds and finance cartel operations.”
“This action marks Treasury’s most significant effort to date to disrupt Cartel del Noreste’s financial infrastructure,” he said.
Treasury said on Tuesday that “as a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.”
It noted that “OFAC coordinated on this action and previous actions against CDN with the Government of Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit [UIF].”
OFAC has previously sanctioned individuals and entities linked to various Mexican criminal groups, including the CDN, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel.
A ‘horse racing enthusiast’ and ‘a current CDN plaza boss’ among the 4 sanctioned individuals
The four individuals sanctioned by OFAC on Tuesday are:
- Gamaliel Garza García, described by Treasury as “a Mexico-based businessman, horse racing enthusiast, and an associate of CDN.” Treasury said that Garza García is involved in horse racing in both Mexico and the United States, noting that his horses race at “some of the most prestigious tracks in California and New Mexico,” and at Club La Molienda.
- Gamaliel Garza Elias, Garza Garcia’s son. Treasury said he was being designated for his involvement in CEGESA, a construction company owned by Garza García that has allegedly “been utilized by CDN to funnel money to election campaigns of CDN’s preferred political candidates.” Treasury said that Garza Elias has “delivered cash to fund election campaigns for CDN’s preferred political candidates in Mexico.”
- Pablo César Guajardo Álvarez, identified by Treasury as “a current CDN plaza boss of Nuevo Laredo and former leader of CDN’s sicarios.” Treasury said that Guajardo was arrested in 2020 for his connection to the January 4, 2017, assassination of Ricardo Martínez Chávez, a high-ranking law enforcement official in Tamaulipas, and four other public servants, “but has since been released.” It also said he has “been involved in arms trafficking on behalf of CDN.”
- Francisco Javier Inzunza Partida, described by Treasury as “a dispatcher for Tamex.” Treasury said that Tamex Leasing (or Tamex Logistics) is a “Tamaulipas-based trucking company involved in the smuggling of narcotics into the United States.”
Like Club La Molienda, Tamex is one of the 11 entities sanctioned by OFAC, most of which are located in Tamaulipas.
The other nine are all owned, controlled or otherwise linked to Garza García. They include various construction and fuel and gas companies as well as a concrete company and a “Quarter Horse racing barn” in Nuevo León.
In addition to allegedly funneling money to “election campaigns of CDN’s preferred political candidates,” CEGESA has “corruptly obtained government contracts and then sub-contracted that work to CDN-affiliated individuals,” according to Treasury.
“CEGESA is a major recipient of government contracts in the north of the country, including from the governments of the municipality of Nuevo Laredo and the state of Tamaulipas,” the department said.
Treasury said that Garza Garcia also controls Cuadra San Dibanh, “an Anahuac, Nuevo León-based Quarter Horse racing barn.”
“Cuadra San Dibanh frequently races at La Molienda and other major racetracks throughout Mexico,” the department said.
With regard to Tamex, Treasury said that the company’s truck yard in Nuevo Laredo “has been the originator of at least two cocaine shipments bound for the United States.”
In its statement, Treasury also said that “CDN’s stronghold sits directly across the border from Laredo, Texas, the busiest port of entry (POE) on the southern border, where nearly 40 percent of all commercial traffic between the United States and Mexico crosses.”
The U.S. department said that the cartel’s “deep entrenchment in cross-border industries, combined with CDN’s ability to infiltrate local governments, steer public contracts, and manipulate regional elections, undermines legitimate authority and destabilizes communities on both sides of the border.”
Mexico News Daily
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