Mexico City — The US Treasury Department on Tuesday issued sanctions against three individuals and two casinos for alleged ties to Mexico’s Cartel del Noreste, one of several criminal groups designated last year. Terrorist Organization by Trump Administration.
near Washington sharpened my grip The Cartel del Noreste – the successor to the former Zetas – has been accused of smuggling weapons, drugs and people, and is characterized by violent practices and extortion. Its base is Nuevo Laredo, the busiest commercial port on the US-Mexico border.
Among the sanctioned entities is Casino Centenario, a gambling venue in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, which the US claims serves as a drug storage center and a mechanism for money laundering through gambling activities.
Treasury also approved Diamante Casino, headquartered in the northern city of Tampico – also in Tamaulipas – which operates an online betting site.
Sanctions were also imposed against high-profile supporters, including Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez, the alleged “gatekeeper” of the cartel’s human trafficking routes in Texas, and Juan Pablo Penilla RodrÃguez, a lawyer cited for providing illegal support.
Notably, the list also includes activist Jesús Raymundo Ramos, whom the Treasury Department has identified as a paid operator responsible for spreading cartel disinformation under the guise of human rights advocacy.
US sanctions block assets of targeted people in the United States and prevent people from doing business with them in the US
Ramos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In March 2023, Ramos alleged that the Mexican military and government accused him of cartel affiliations, which he denied. An independent investigation later confirmed that his phone had been tampered with. pegasus spyware In 2020.
According to US authorities, Penilla Rodriguez assisted one of Los Zetas’ leaders – Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, alias Z-40 – who was extradited to the US last year along with his brother and the organization’s leader, Omar Trevino Morales, and 27 others.
The two men and popular Mexican rapper Ricardo Hernández Medrano – better known as El Macabélico or Comando Exclusivo – were Accepted In August for alleged ties to a criminal organization.
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