Voz media US Voz.us
Apple store Voz-media Play store Voz Media

Washington sanctions casinos and operators for alleged ties to Mexican cartel CDN

This is the third OFAC action against CDN leadership and affiliates during the Trump Administration.

Scott Bessent reports on new sanctions against Mexican cartel.

Scott Bessent reports on new sanctions against Mexican cartel.AFP

Diane Hernández
Published by
Diane Hernández

Washington announced sanctions on Tuesday against casinos, businesses and individuals allegedly linked to the Cártel del Noreste (CDN), which operates in northern Mexico.

One of the establishments, Casino Centenario, is located in the town of Nuevo Laredo, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, just 3.2 kilometers from the U.S. border, the Treasury Department detailed in a statement.

Casino Centenario is run by Comercializadora y Arrendadora de Mexico (CAMSA) and is used by the CDN as a "safe house for fentanyl pills and cocaine, as well as a vehicle for laundering illicit proceeds and integrating them into the legitimate financial system through its gambling operations," the statement said.

Another of those sanctioned is Diamante Casino, located in the city of Tampico (Tamaulipas).

The black list also includes alleged businessmen

The blacklist of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also includes Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez, "Crosty," as a cartel operator, in charge of crossing undocumented immigrants across the Rio Grande into Texas.

In addition, there is the lawyer Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez, for his work linked to the CDN as a defender, among others, of drug lord Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, "Z-40."

His work goes "beyond a normal attorney-client relationship," OFAC said.

Jesus Reymundo Ramos Vázquez, noted for being associated with the CDN, was also sanctioned.

"Under the guise of human rights activist, Ramos engages exclusively in defending violent cartel members, filing false complaints against the Mexican military, paying individuals to attend protests, and protecting the reputations of members of the CDN who have been killed or arrested," Treasury denounced.

This is the third OFAC action against CDN leadership and affiliates during the Trump Administration. On May 21, 2025, OFAC designated two senior members and arms dealers of CDN. On August 6, 2025, OFAC designated three high-ranking members of CDN and narco-rapper 'El Makabelico', who provided support to CDN using streaming and concert platforms to generate revenue and launder money for the cartel.

CDN was declared a "terrorist organization"

Treasury sanctions mean that all assets and interests in assets of those sanctioned under U.S. jurisdiction, held or controlled by Americans, are blocked.

The CDN was declared a "terrorist organization" by Washington in February last year.

"The Northeast Cartel's violence and intimidation, including its March 2022 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, threatens U.S. personnel, undermines Mexican sovereignty and destabilizes communities on both sides of the border," the State Department explained in another statement.

RECOMMENDATION

tracking