A new series of actions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury highlights the way one of the most sadistic terrorist organizations in Mexico — responsible for mass killings and incinerations — uses horse racing, construction companies, and gas companies to launder their proceeds and also fund political campaigns.
In a new series of sanctions, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four individuals from the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas and several companies connected to them.
As Breitbart Texas reported, Los Zetas is one of Mexico’s most violent cartels with a long history of mass killings, including women and children. In 2014, Breitbart Texas first reported on how Los Zetas kidnapped, murdered, and incinerated over 300 victims from one town in the Mexican border state of Coahuila. In the following years, authorities have been unable to determine an exact count of the victims who were taken.
The U.S. Treasury also linked Los Zetas to a 2011 mass murder where the hyperviolent cartel locked down a casino in Monterrey and set fire to the building. The terrorist action resulted in the deaths of 52 victims and the injury of dozens of others. The majority of the victims in that incident were innocent women.
Treasury officials revealed that CDN-Los Zetas used American Quarter Horse races to launder money. The practice began in 2008.
In 2012, the U.S. government carried out a series of actions against various horse racing businesses in the U.S. that were used to launder cartel money and seized close to 500 horses. The criminal organization continues to operate its horse racing business and currently runs a venture in the cartel’s bastion of Nuevo Laredo. Operating under the name Club La Molienda, the CDN-Zetas run a racetrack, bar, and restaurant that is constantly used for races, as well as a marketplace for buying and selling high-end racehorses.
Credit: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasury also sanctioned Gamaliel Garza Garcia and his son Gamaliel Garza Elias, who own numerous businesses in Nuevo Laredo and are known horse enthusiasts. The two are known members of the cartel who have used their businesses to launder its money and also helped cartel-connected individuals get government contracts in Mexico. Garza Elias is described by the U.S. Treasury as having delivered illicit funds to Mexican political candidates on behalf of the cartel.
U.S. Treasury sanctioned the two men, as well as the following businesses:
- Construaceros del Fuerte, S.A. de C.V., a construction company;
- Inova NLD Desarrollos Inmobiliarios, S.A. de C.V., a construction company;
- Distribuidora de Gas Económico, S.A. de C.V., a fuel and gas company;
- Gas Energia Confiable, S.A. de C.V., a fuel and gas company;
- Propane Trading Group, S.A. de C.V., a fuel and gas company; and
- Transportadora de Gas de Nuevo Laredo, S.A. de C.V., a fuel and gas transportation company.
In their action, the U.S. Treasury also sanctioned Pablo Cesar “El Takia” Guajardo Alvarez, the current cartel plaza boss in Nuevo Laredo. The cartel boss is described as a highly violent criminal who was arrested in Mexico in 2020 in connection with various murders but has since been released.
Treasury also sanctioned a transportation company named Tamex Leasing or Tamex Logistics, which has been linked to various seized drug shipments. They also sanctioned one of the company’s employees, Francisco Javier Inzunza Partida, for his alleged role in coordinating those shipments.
The sanctions prohibit any U.S. citizen or business from doing business with the individuals on the OFAC list and subject any violators to criminal sanctions.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.