The U.S. Treasury Department imposed fresh sanctions Tuesday targeting three individuals and two gambling establishments for their suspected connections to Mexico’s Northeast Cartel, a criminal organization the Trump administration labeled as a terrorist group last year.
Federal authorities have stepped up their campaign against the Northeast Cartel, which emerged from the remnants of the former Zetas organization. The group operates from Nuevo Laredo, the most active commercial crossing point along the U.S.-Mexico border, and faces accusations of smuggling weapons, narcotics, and people while engaging in violent tactics and extortion schemes.
The sanctions target Casino Centenario, a gambling establishment located in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. Federal officials allege the casino serves as a storage facility for narcotics and operates as a front for money laundering through its gaming operations.
Treasury officials also sanctioned Diamante Casino, based in the northern city of Tampico in Tamaulipas state, which runs an internet gambling platform.
The sanctions also hit several key facilitators, including Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez, who authorities describe as the cartel’s “gatekeeper” for human trafficking operations into Texas, and lawyer Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez, accused of providing illegal assistance to the organization.
In a surprising inclusion, the sanctions list features activist Jesús Reymundo Ramos, whom Treasury officials identified as a compensated operative tasked with distributing cartel propaganda while posing as a human rights advocate.
These financial penalties freeze any assets the designated individuals possess within the United States and ban American citizens and businesses from conducting transactions with them.
Ramos has not yet responded to requests for comment.
In March 2023, Ramos claimed that Mexico’s military and government fabricated allegations connecting him to the Northeast Cartel, accusations he firmly rejected. A separate investigation later revealed that his mobile device had been infiltrated by Pegasus surveillance software in 2020.
Federal authorities say Penilla Rodríguez provided assistance to Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, known as Z-40, a former Los Zetas leader. Treviño Morales was sent to the United States last year alongside his brother Omar Treviño Morales, who led the organization, and 27 additional suspects.
In August, Treasury officials sanctioned two other individuals and popular Mexican rapper Ricardo Hernández Medrano, who performs under the names El Makabelico and Comando Exclusivo, for suspected ties to the criminal network.
