La Molienda races under cartel sanctions scrutiny
El Financiero describes the Nuevo Laredo racetrack's 200-peso admission and weekend races, while reporting Treasury allegations that the venue generated income for the Northeast Cartel. Its future was unclear at the time of the report.
La Molienda, a horse racetrack in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, combined weekend races, live music and family activities before being designated by the U.S. Treasury Department over alleged ties to the Northeast Cartel. According to El Financiero, Treasury alleged that admission fees charged to riders and spectators generated income for the organization.
The department also alleged that associates of Miguel Ángel “Z-40” Treviño Morales supervised the venue. The article reports that Treviño Morales is held in a maximum-security prison in Virginia. Treasury designated La Molienda as a business owned or controlled by, or acting on behalf of, the cartel.
El Financiero reported that the track's Instagram account dated its racing activities to 2023. Its course extended 350 yards, with some races run over 150, 200 or 250 yards. A Nuevo Laredo resident interviewed by the newspaper's correspondent, Perla Reséndez, said attendance was highest from Friday through Sunday. Admission cost 200 pesos and included live concerts; visitors were sometimes allowed to bring food and borrow grills.
Treasury identified Gamaliel Garza García, a businessman it linked to the cartel, as a frequent competitor and the owner of Cuadra San Dibanh, a quarter-horse breeding stable.
The newspaper reported that customers had also been able to bet on La Molienda races at Casino Centenario. Mexico's Interior Ministry suspended the casino's operations after its designation by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which alleged money laundering and identified it as a major cartel funding source.
At the time of the report, the track's latest social-media posts dated to mid-June and its Google Maps listing showed it as temporarily closed. The article said its future remained unclear.
Original report by El Financiero