Aug. 7 (UPI) — The United States has blacklisted three high-ranking members and an associated rapper of the notorious Cartel del Noreste, as the Trump administration targets drug trafficking organizations amid it immigration crackdown.
The Treasury announced the sanctions Wednesday against Abdon Federico Rodriguez Garcia, 41, CDN’s second-in-command; Antonio Romero Sanchez, 41, a high-ranking CDN member; Francisco Daniel Esqueda Nieto, 30, CDN’s tactical operations leaded in Nuevo Laredo; and Ricardo Hernandez Medrano, 34, a Mexican rapper known by his stage names El Makabelico or Comando Exclusivo.
According to the Treasury, the four individuals are “key” enablers of the CDN’s “campaign of violence and narco-terrorism.”
While the three members blacklisted are accused of directly leading or participating in the gang’s drug trafficking and other operations, Medrano is being targeted on accusations that his concerts and events are used to launder money for the gang, with 50% of his royalties from streaming platforms allegedly being directed to CDN.
He had millions of followers on YouTube, but his account now seems to have been removed. UPI has contacted YouTube for comment.
“CDN depends on these alternative revenue streams and money laundering methods to boost their criminal enterprise, diversifying their income beyond criminal activity like drug trafficking, human smuggling and extortion,” the Treasury said in a release.
Formerly known as Los Zetas, CDN is a notorious criminal organization based in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon. Along with drugs, CDN has been connected to human and arms trafficking as well as money laundering and vehicle and oil theft.
CDN and seven other cartels were designated foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department in February at the direction of President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order targeting the criminal organizations on his first day in office.
Trump campaigned on securing the border from both criminal cartels and irregular migration, often through the use of incendiary rhetoric and misinformation.
In May, the Treasury sanctioned two high-ranking members of the gang, including a weapons procurer.
“These cartels poison Americans with fentanyl and conduct human smuggling operations along our southwest border,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday in a statement.
“Treasury, in close coordination with our law enforcement partners, is committed to a full-frontal assault on the cartels, targeting the leadership and revenue streams that enable their horrific crimes.”
Be the first to comment