The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned four people and 11 entities it linked to Cartel del Noreste on October 13. The targets span quarter horse racing, construction, trucking, and oil and gas.
The four people named by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are Gamaliel Garza Garcia, his son Gamaliel Garza Elias, Pablo Cesar Guajardo Alvarez and Francisco Javier Inzunza Partida.
Business targets include Club La Molienda, a racetrack, restaurant and bar near Nuevo Laredo that Treasury says generates revenue for the cartel. The department also designated construction company Construcciones y Edificaciones Garza Elias, known as CEGESA, alleging it helped channel money to election campaigns of cartel-preferred candidates. Trucking company Tamex Leasing, also called Tamex Logistics, was sanctioned over alleged narcotics smuggling into the United States.
The sanctions block the targets’ property and property interests located in the United States or held or controlled by U.S. persons, and require reporting those assets to OFAC. They also cover entities owned at least 50% by one or more blocked persons, counting direct and indirect ownership and their combined holdings.
Transactions involving blocked property are generally prohibited for U.S. persons and within or through the United States, unless an OFAC license authorizes them or an exemption applies.
The action uses existing executive orders. Cartel del Noreste’s designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization dates to February 20, 2025.
