The Treasury has sanctioned two senior members of the Cartel del Noreste (CDN), a Mexican drug trafficking organization that was previously known as Los Zetas.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, took action against these two individuals. The CDN has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
Miguel Angel de Anda Ledesma is among those sanctioned. According to the Treasury, he is responsible for acquiring weaponry for CDN and managing payments to U.S. buyers and facilitators.
The other sanctioned individual is Ricardo Gonzalez Saucetta, who served as CDN’s deputy commander before his arrest in February by Mexican authorities. Gonzalez, overseeing the group’s Armed Enforcement operations, has profited from firearms trafficked for assaults against Mexican military and police forces, the Treasury noted.
“The Trump administration is dedicated to eradicating cartels to restore safety in America, and we will ensure these terrorists face consequences for their reprehensible acts of violence,” stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent.
Bescent further remarked that the CDN and its leaders are engaged in violent extortion and terrorism, posing threats to communities on both sides of the southern border. “We will persist in obstructing the cartel’s access to drugs, money, and weapons that enable their violent undertakings,” he added.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration designated CDN as one of eight cartels considered terrorist organizations, joining other groups like Tren de Aragua (TDA) and MS-13 among the federal government’s targets.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Blues remarked that CDN employs violence to enforce criminal operations and intimidate communities along the border, particularly affecting U.S. citizens in northeastern Mexico.
