The U.S. Department of the Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), delivered a direct blow to the finances of the Cartel del Noreste (CDN), one of Mexico’s most bloodthirsty criminal organizations, by sanctioning Centenario Casino located in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, just two miles from the Texas border.
According to the official statement dated April 14, 2026, this casino operated by Comercializadora y Arrendadora de México, S.A. de C.V. (CAMSA) functioned as a “stash house” to store fentanyl pills and cocaine, in addition to serving as the main vehicle to launder illicit proceeds and integrate them into the legitimate financial system through its gaming operations.
The OFAC detailed that the CDN used the backrooms of Centenario Casino not only to store drugs, but also to torture and intimidate alleged enemies of the cartel. Many members of the criminal group frequented the place, turning it into a key point in its money laundering and cash smuggling network.
Today, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned six targets involved in a money laundering and cash smuggling enterprise operated by terrorist Cartel del Noreste, which exerts significant influence along the U.S.-Mexico border near Laredo, Texas, the busiest land…
— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) April 14, 2026
Along with Centenario, the Diamante Casino in Tampico, operated by the same CAMSA company, was also sanctioned, as well as the website diamantecasino.com.mx. These measures were taken under Executive Orders 14059 (against the proliferation of illicit drugs) and 13224 (against terrorists and their facilitators).
This action is part of the third OFAC offensive against the CDN during the current U.S. administration and seeks to dismantle the sources of income that sustain the cartel in the Nuevo Laredo plaza, one of the most contested and violent in the country.
The CDN, formerly known as Los Zetas and designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the Department of State in February 2025, controls routes for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, and cocaine, in addition to human smuggling, extortion, and kidnappings on both sides of the border.
Its influence extends through Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León, where it uses terror to bribe officials and journalists and to control the passage of goods at the busiest land port of entry in the United States.
In addition to the casinos and the CAMSA company, the OFAC sanctioned three key individuals who operate as facilitators of the cartel. Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez, alias “Crosty,” directs human smuggling operations in Nuevo Laredo, acts as a “gatekeeper” for the pateros, and controls cash stash houses.
Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez, a defense attorney, provides illegal services to CDN members beyond a normal attorney-client relationship and serves as an intermediary for the incarcerated leader Miguel Ángel “Z-40” Treviño Morales.
Jesús Reymundo Ramos Vázquez, known as Raymundo Ramos and publicly presented as a human rights activist, has led a disinformation campaign against Mexican authorities on behalf of the cartel for more than a decade.
These sanctions block any transactions with assets or interests in the United States and send a clear message: the structures that finance drug trafficking, even those disguised as legitimate businesses like casinos frequented by Americans, will not go unpunished.
While the CDN’s fentanyl continues to kill thousands of Americans each year and the cartel extorts and terrorizes entire communities on the border, this measure reinforces the priority of protecting national sovereignty and security in the face of the threat posed by a cartel that operates with total impunity on Mexican soil.
About The Author
Joana Campos
Joana Campos es abogada y editora con más de 10 años de experiencia en la gestión de proyectos de desarrollo internacional, enfocada en la sostenibilidad y el impacto social positivo. Anteriormente, trabajó como abogada corporativa. Egresada de la Universidad de Guadalajara.
