US sanctions Mexican casinos linked to cartel, alleged “gatekeeper” of human trafficking routes
The US Treasury Department on Tuesday issued sanctions against three individuals and two casinos for alleged links to Mexico’s Cartel del Noreste, one of the criminal groups designated last year as a terrorist organization by the Trump administration.
Washington has intensified its campaign to raid the Cartel del Noreste – the heir to the former Zetas – which is suspected of smuggling weapons, drugs and people, and is characterized by its habits of violence and robbery. Its base is Nuevo Laredo, a busy commercial port on the US-Mexico border.
Among the entities sanctioned is Casino Centenario, a casino in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, which the US says serves as a drug depot and a way to launder gambling money.
The Ministry of Finance also approved the Diamante Casino, headquartered in the north of the city of Tampico – also in Tamaulipas – which operates an online betting site.
Penalties were also imposed on high-ranking operatives, including Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez – the “gatekeeper” accused of human trafficking in Texas – and lawyer Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez, cited for providing illegal support.
Notably, this list includes the activist Jesús Reymundo Ramos, whom the Ministry of Finance identified as a paid employee responsible for disseminating new cartel information under the guise of advocating for human rights.
US sanctions freeze the assets of targeted individuals in the United States and prohibit individuals from doing business with them in the US.
Ramos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US Treasury Department
In March 2023, Ramos alleged that the Mexican military and government orchestrated the allegations linking him to the cartel, which he denied. An independent investigation later confirmed that his phone was compromised by Pegasus spyware in 2020.
According to the US authorities, Penilla Rodríguez helped one of the leaders of Los Zetas – Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, nicknamed Z-40 – who was returned to the US last year along with his brother and the leader of the organization, Omar Treviño Morales, and 27 other people.
Two people and famous Mexican rapper Ricardo Hernández Medrano – known as El Makabelico, or Comando Exclusivo – have approved in August for alleged ties to a criminal organization.
“Terrorist operation on the border”
According to the Ministry of Finance, the Cartel del Noreste (CDN) is involved in the smuggling of illegal drugs across the border, including fentanyl, crystal meth, heroin and cocaine, and conducts a “cross-border terrorist campaign.”
“The CDN is involved in violent criminal activity on both sides of the border, including the kidnapping and execution of criminal threats along the southern border,” the department said. “The CDN uses its terrorist-fueled influence in the region to control drug and people-trafficking routes, bribe politicians and journalists, and defraud local businesses and shipments flowing to and from the United States through the United States’ busiest port of entry.”
In November 2024, two high-ranking members were sentenced to prison in the US for their roles in an extensive human trafficking ring involving the Cartel del Noreste.
“By disrupting CDN revenue streams and safe havens, the United States is fighting to protect legitimate cross-border trade, protect America’s border communities, stop the trafficking of fentanyl and other illegal drugs that are killing Americans, and strengthen our joint efforts with Mexico to degrade and dismantle terrorist drug organizations,” State Department Thomas Pigott said in a statement on Tuesday.
