Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned three high-ranking members and one prominent associate of the Mexico-based Cartel del Noreste (CDN), formerly known as Los Zetas. CDN, one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) that exerts significant influence over the U.S.-Mexico border, specifically the Laredo, Texas point of entry. CDN’s influence in the Mexican border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, has affected communities on both sides of the border, and the cartel’s role in fentanyl trafficking and human smuggling into the United States puts American lives at risk. The individuals being designated today play key roles in aiding CDN’s horrific crimes, including assassinations, beheadings, drug trafficking, extortion, and money laundering. CDN is a violent terrorist organization primarily based in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon. For decades, CDN has been involved in the trafficking of narcotics and other illicit drugs, including fentanyl, crystal methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, and cocaine. CDN is also involved in human trafficking, extortion, arms trafficking, and kidnapping for ransom. CDN is known for operating on both sides of the U.S. border. In June 2025, the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 72 undocumented immigrants and seized cash, narcotics, and firearms at a CDN-run nightclub during an operation in South Carolina. This unlicensed establishment was involved in drug, weapons, and human trafficking operations. In addition, CDN utilizes commercial passenger buses to smuggle drugs into the United States. The organization is involved in large-scale human smuggling operations into the United States, often kidnapping and exploiting migrants for the purpose of extortion or forced labor. CDN utilizes drug distribution hubs throughout the state of Texas and has associates, facilitators, and affiliates throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, and the Midwest. CDN, previously known as Los Zetas, was identified by the United States as a specially designated foreign narcotics trafficker on April 15, 2009 pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). On July 24, 2011, Los Zetas was named as a transnational criminal organization (TCO) in the annex to E.O. 13581. On December 15, 2021, OFAC designated CDN pursuant to E.O. 14059. On February 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of State designated CDN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
Transnational Criminal Organizations Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 590;
Executive Order 13581 of July 24, 2011 Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations
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Official Information
On January 12, 2012, OFAC issued the Transnational Criminal Organizations Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 590 (77 FR 1864, January 12, 2012) (the “Regulations”), to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13581 of July 24, 2011, “Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations” (76 FR 44757, July 27, 2011), pursuant to authorities delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury in E.O. 13581. The Regulations were initially issued in abbreviated form for the purpose of providing immediate guidance to the public. OFAC amended the Regulations on July 23, 2019 (84 FR 35307, July 23, 2019) to implement E.O. 13863 of March 15, 2019, “Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Transnational Criminal Organizations” (84 FR 10255, March 19, 2019), which amended E.O. 13581. OFAC is amending and reissuing the Regulations as a more comprehensive set of regulations that includes additional interpretive guidance and definitions, general licenses, and other regulatory provisions that will provide further guidance to the public. Due to the number of regulatory sections being updated or added, OFAC is reissuing the Regulations in their entirety.
E.O. 13581 On July 24, 2011, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), issued E.O. 13581. In E.O. 13581, the President found that the activities of significant transnational criminal organizations, such as those listed in the Annex to E.O. 13581, have reached such scope and gravity that they threaten the stability of international political and economic systems. The President further found that such organizations are becoming increasingly sophisticated and dangerous to the United States; they are increasingly entrenched in the operations of foreign governments and the international financial system, thereby weakening democratic institutions, degrading the rule of law, and undermining economic markets. The President stated these organizations facilitate and aggravate violent civil conflicts and increasingly facilitate the activities of other dangerous persons. The President determined that the activities of significant transnational criminal organizations constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat.
