Treasury sanctions Northeast Cartel-linked network
Original reporting: Azteca Noticias
What happened
Azteca Noticias reports that OFAC sanctioned four people and 11 companies linked in the report to the Northeast Cartel, including construction, horse-racing, fuel and trucking interests in Tamaulipas.
Reporting and context
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions against four people and 11 companies that Azteca Noticias linked to the Northeast Cartel in Tamaulipas. The outlet reported that the network operated through construction contracts, horse racing and fuel businesses, and that the designated assets included the Club La Molienda racetrack outside Nuevo Laredo.
According to Azteca Noticias, the Treasury investigation identified businessman Gamaliel Garza García and his son, Gamaliel Garza Elías, in connection with construction companies including CEGESA and COPASA. The report said the firms obtained public contracts, subcontracted people allegedly linked to the group and diverted money to support political campaigns in Tamaulipas. It also named fuel companies including Distribuidora de Gas Económico and Propane Trading Group, along with the trucking company Tamex Logistics.
The source further identified Pablo César Guajardo Álvarez, known as “El Takia,” as a sanctioned individual described in the report as a Nuevo Laredo plaza boss and former sicario linked to arms trafficking. Azteca Noticias said the measures were coordinated with Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit and that property, accounts and interests located in the United States would be blocked. U.S. law bars commercial and financial transactions involving designated people and entities, subject to civil or criminal penalties.