US Treasury sanctions Mexican cartel leaders for terrorism and arms trafficking

The Treasury Department of United States announced on Wednesday (21), sanctions against two leaders of the Cartel del Noreste (CDN), formerly known as Los Zetas, group located in Mexico and classified as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the US. According to the statement, the CDN is “one of Mexico’s most violent drug trafficking organizations” and has a strong presence in the Laredo (US) and Nuevo Laredo (Mexico) border region.

The sanctions fall on Miguel Angel de Caido Lédezma and Ricardo Gonzalez Sauceda. Lecidity “oversees the acquisition of weapons and ammunition” for the cartel and coordinated deliveries to Nuevo Laredo with weapons acquired through US facade buyers, says the Treasury. One of these weapons was recovered after a CDN attack on the Mexican army in March 2024.

Sauceda, according to the US government, was the second in the cartel hierarchy until he was arrested by Mexican authorities in February this year. He “led an armed arm from the CDN” and was involved in actions against police and military forces. At the time of prison, he carried “a rifle, a pistol, 300 grams of methamphetamine and 1,500 fentanyl tablets.”

The Treasury said that actions are part of a broader strategy of the government of Donald Trump to “fully eliminate the cartels”. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that “the CDN and its leaders have led a violent campaign of intimidation, kidnapping and terrorism, threatening communities on both sides of our southern border.” The sanctions were applied under executive orders dealing with the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism.

*With information from Estadão Content

Posted by Nátaly Tenório