U.S. Treasury sanctions Los Zetas front companies in horse racing, construction and gas sectors
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Oct. 13, 2026 that it has sanctioned four members of the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas and a dozen companies operating in horse racing, construction and gas sectors, accusing them of laundering cartel proceeds and financing political campaigns.
The action is intended to choke the financial networks that enable the violent group to sustain operations and exert influence in Mexican politics, and it bars U.S. persons and businesses from providing services or transactions to the listed individuals and entities.
Among the designated individuals are Gamaliel Garza Garcia and his son Gamaliel Garza Elias, owners of construction and horse‑racing enterprises in Nuevo Laredo, who Treasury says were central to the laundering scheme. The sanctions also include cartel plaza boss Pablo Cesar “El Takia” Guajardo Alvarez and Francisco Javier Inzunza Partida, an employee of the transportation firm Tamex Logistics.
The companies targeted include Construaceros del Fuerte, S.A. de C.V., Inova NLD Desarrollos Inmobiliarios, S.A. de C.V., Distribuidora de Gas Económico, S.A. de C.V., Gas Energia Confiable, S.A. de C.V., Propane Trading Group, S.A. de C.V., Transportadora de Gas de Nuevo Laredo, S.A. de C.V., the logistics firm Tamex Leasing (also known as Tamex Logistics), and the horse‑racing venue Club La Molienda, which operates a racetrack, bar and restaurant.
Treasury officials explained that the cartel began using American Quarter Horse races as a money‑laundering channel in 2008. Club La Molienda today functions as a marketplace for high‑end racehorses, providing a veneer of legitimacy for illicit cash. Parallelly, the construction and gas firms were used to funnel money and secure lucrative public contracts, including multimillion‑peso projects to build toll booths and access roads for the Colombia International Port of Entry in Nuevo León.
Investigators previously uncovered that Construcciones y Edificaciones Garza Elias (CEGESA) received contracts worth 94 million pesos in 2023 and smaller contracts in 2022 to improve the port facility, contracts that matched Treasury’s earlier allegations of bribery and money‑laundering.
Under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions, any U.S. citizen, entity or business that provides goods, services or financial support to the listed parties faces criminal penalties. Treasury warned that additional designations could follow as the agency continues to map the network of front companies linked to Los Zetas.
The move underscores a broader U.S. effort to undermine transnational criminal organizations that blend illicit activity with legitimate enterprises, putting pressure on Mexican authorities to scrutinize contracts tied to suspected cartel fronts.
