meta_id 3590624

On October 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four individuals and 11 entities connected to Cartel del Noreste (CDN), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The designations target individuals and businesses involved in quarter horse racing, construction, trucking, and the oil and gas sector, exposing CDN's exploitation of the horse racing industry to launder illicit proceeds and finance cartel operations. CDN, based in Nuevo Laredo directly across the border from Laredo, Texas—the busiest port of entry on the southern border—has leveraged the American quarter horse racing sector for decades. Between 2008 and 2012, CDN leaders purchased and raced horses in the United States, laundering over $22 million through the operation. CDN continues this activity through Club La Molienda, a horse racetrack in Nuevo Laredo that generates revenue through entrance fees and horse racing. The designations include Gamaliel Garza Garcia, a Mexico-based businessman and horse racing enthusiast involved in racing at prestigious tracks in California and New Mexico, and his son Gamaliel Garza Elias. Garza Garcia's construction companies, Construcciones y Edificaciones Garza Elias S.A. de C.V. and Concretos y Productos Asfalticos del Norte S.A. de C.V., have been used to funnel money to CDN-preferred political candidates and obtain government contracts. Additional designations include Pablo Cesar Guajardo Alvarez, CDN's plaza boss in Nuevo Laredo; Tamex Leasing, a trucking company involved in narcotics smuggling; and Francisco Javier Inzunza Partida, a Tamex dispatcher. OFAC conducted the investigation in coordination with the Homeland Security Task Force and multiple federal agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. All property and interests in property of designated persons in the United States or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked. U.S. persons are prohibited from conducting transactions involving designated persons unless authorized by OFAC license. Violations may result in civil or criminal penalties. This marks OFAC's fourth and largest action targeting CDN during the Trump Administration.