Cártel del Noreste (CDN) Map & Profile 2026: Z-40, Z-42, Territory and U.S. Charges

What official records and reporting say about the Cártel del Noreste (CDN): who leads it, where it is reported to operate, and how the U.S. has targeted it. Territory and leadership change fast, so each item links to its source and shows dates as reported. Allegations are as stated by the source; people who are charged are presumed innocent until convicted.

All cartel profiles

Names and aliases

• The organization is known in Spanish as the Cártel del Noreste and in English as the Northeast Cartel, commonly abbreviated CDN. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• CDN maintains an enforcement wing called the Tropa del Infierno, or Hell Troop, which first gained notoriety through clashes with the CJNG and Mexican security forces around 2019. [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• In 2023 the CDN formed another armed wing called 'Los Chukys' to expand its control into the neighboring state of Nuevo León. [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]

Origins

• InSight Crime traces the CDN's emergence to the fragmentation of the Zetas beginning around 2012; after the Treviño brothers were captured, power passed to their nephew Juan Francisco Treviño Chávez, alias 'El Kiko,' who established the CDN as the Treviño family's splinter faction while rivals coalesced as the Old School Zetas. [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• The US intelligence community's overview, current as of May 2026, states the Northeast Cartel was formed in 2014 by Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales and Omar Treviño Morales (both since detained) as a splinter group of Los Zetas. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]

Leadership

• Juan Cisneros Treviño, alias 'Juanito,' assumed control of the CDN after his cousin El Huevo's 2022 arrest and was identified as the group's leader in the May 2026 US intelligence overview. He is presumed innocent of pending criminal allegations. (as of 2026-05-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• Abdón Federico Rodríguez García, alias 'Cucho,' is identified as CDN second-in-command and was sanctioned by OFAC in August 2025. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-05-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• CDN co-founder Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, alias 'Z-40,' was extradited to the United States in February 2025 and was awaiting trial as of May 2026. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-05-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• CDN co-founder Omar Treviño Morales, alias 'Z-42' and brother of Z-40, was extradited to the United States in February 2025 and was awaiting trial as of May 2026. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-05-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• Juan Gerardo Treviño Chávez, alias 'El Huevo,' nephew of Z-40 and cousin of Juanito, led the CDN from 2016 to 2022; he was arrested and transferred to the United States in 2022 and pleaded guilty to drug and money laundering charges in 2024. (as of 2026-05-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• 'El Kiko,' who founded the CDN as the Treviño family's splinter, was arrested by US authorities in Baytown, Texas in September 2016 and subsequently sentenced to two life terms on drug trafficking, firearms and money laundering charges. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• After Ricardo González Sauceda's February 2025 arrest, Francisco Daniel Esqueda Nieto, alias 'Franky Esqueda,' assumed control of CDN tactical operations. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• Ricardo González Sauceda, alias 'El Ricky,' led the Los Chukys expansion into Nuevo León and rose to become CDN second-in-command until his arrest in February 2025. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• Three key Tropa del Infierno (Hell Troop) leaders were captured in rapid succession: 'El Werko' in August 2021, 'El Cadete' in September 2021, and 'El Negrolo' in November 2022. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• OFAC identifies Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez, alias 'Crosty,' as the CDN member in charge of human smuggling operations in Nuevo Laredo; he oversees 'patero' smugglers, controls cash stash houses, and is a close associate of second-in-command 'Cucho.' He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-09-01 · official record]
• Antonio Romero Sánchez is reported to manage CDN operations in Piedras Negras, Coahuila and Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• Juan Cisneros Trevino, a.k.a. 'Juanito,' took control of the Cartel del Noreste after his cousin 'El Huevo' was arrested in 2022, per the ODNI Counterterrorism Guide (as of May 2026). (as of 2026-05) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-05 · official record]

Factions and splits

• The Old School Zetas (Zetas Vieja Escuela) are a rival splinter that coalesced around rival Zetas leaders; CDN relations with them are complex — alliances of convenience in some areas and open conflict in others. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• 'El Huevo' founded the Tropa del Infierno (Hell Troop) as CDN's enforcement wing; it is known for heavily armed clashes with Mexican security forces and with the CJNG. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]

Allies and rivals

• According to the DEA, the Mayiza faction of the Sinaloa Cartel supplies the CDN with fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine for movement into the United States, while the CDN gives the Mayiza faction access to the Laredo border crossing. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• The CDN's border-crossing strategy includes taxation and mutually beneficial agreements with other trafficking organizations that need to move goods through its Nuevo Laredo corridor. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]

What it does

• The CDN smuggles narcotics, migrants and fuel into the United States, using hidden compartments in tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles with lookouts positioned on both sides of the border. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• The CDN's primary income is the tax it levies on nearly all licit and illicit goods crossing the Nuevo Laredo–Laredo border — drug traffickers, migrant smugglers and transport companies all pay, backed by systematic extortion (cobro de piso) of businesses. [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• Treasury says CDN activities include fentanyl, crystal methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana and cocaine trafficking, kidnapping and killing on both sides of the border, bribing politicians and journalists, and extorting businesses and shipments at the busiest inland trade port on the border. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-09-01 · official record]
• Treasury alleges the CDN uses Nuevo Laredo's Casino Centenario as a stash house for fentanyl pills and cocaine, laundering proceeds through the casino's gaming operations and using backrooms to intimidate alleged enemies. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-09-01 · official record]
• US prosecutors allege Z-40 and Z-42 continued issuing orders to the CDN and the Tropa del Infierno from inside a Mexican prison. [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• CDN traffickers use lookouts on both sides of the US–Mexico border and rely on small arms and armored vehicles to threaten rival cartels and Mexican security services through kidnappings and killings. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• Treasury says Casino Centenario functioned as a CDN drug storage hub and laundered money through gambling activity, with backrooms used to torture and intimidate perceived enemies. [Associated Press (via SRN News), 2026-04-14 · news/research]
• OFAC sanctioned activist Jesus Reymundo Ramos Vazquez, identified as a paid CDN operative who spread cartel disinformation while posing as a human rights advocate. [Associated Press (via SRN News), 2026-04-14 · news/research]
• Treasury links CDN to fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana and cocaine trafficking, plus human smuggling, kidnapping, extortion and political corruption. [iGaming.org · news/research]

U.S. designations, sanctions and charges

• The US State Department designated the CDN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity in February 2025, effective February 20, 2025. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• CDN, previously known as Los Zetas, was designated a specially designated narcotics trafficker on April 15, 2009, added to the TCO annex of E.O. 13581 on July 24, 2011, and designated under E.O. 14059 on December 15, 2021. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-09-01 · official record]
• On August 6, 2025, OFAC designated three high-ranking CDN members and narco-rapper Ricardo Hernández Medrano, alias 'El Makabelico,' for generating revenue and laundering money for the cartel through streaming platforms and concerts. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-09-01 · official record]
• On May 21, 2025, OFAC designated two high-ranking CDN members described as arms traffickers. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-09-01 · official record]
• In its latest CDN action, OFAC sanctioned six targets in a money laundering and cash smuggling enterprise: Casino Centenario, the CAMSA corporate network behind it, Tampico's Diamante Casino and its online betting site, plus 'Crosty,' defense attorney Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez, and Raymundo Ramos. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-09-01 · official record]
• OFAC alleges defense attorney Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez provides illegal services to CDN members beyond a normal attorney-client relationship, including serving as imprisoned Z-40's intermediary to CDN's current leadership; Jesús Reymundo 'Raymundo' Ramos Vázquez is alleged to lead CDN's disinformation campaign on the cartel's payroll. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-09-01 · official record]
• The State Department designated the Cartel del Noreste as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February 2025, per ODNI. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-05 · official record]
• On April 14, 2026, OFAC sanctioned Casino Centenario in Nuevo Laredo and Diamante Casino in Tampico, plus three individuals, for links to the Cartel del Noreste. [Associated Press (via SRN News), 2026-04-14 · news/research]
• OFAC also designated Comercializadora y Arrendadora de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (CAMSA), the operator of Casino Centenario and Diamante Casino. [iGaming.org · news/research]
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: "We will continue to cut off the cartels' ability to obtain the drugs, money, and guns that enable their violent activities." [Associated Press (via K-LOVE) · news/research]

Key events

• Following El Huevo's March 2022 arrest, the CDN attacked the US Consulate in Nuevo Laredo with small arms and grenades; there were no casualties. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• In August 2024, the CDN attacked a Mexican military patrol in Tamaulipas, killing two soldiers and wounding five. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• In June 2022, the CDN ambushed a Mexican police patrol in Nuevo León, killing six and wounding four. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• Shortly after the February 2025 FTO designation, the Treviño brothers Z-40 and Z-42 were transferred to US custody. [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• In 2025, the CDN was battling the Gulf Cartel's Metros faction — which had allied with the CJNG — in Ciudad Mier and Miguel Alemán, while also asserting itself in Ciudad Victoria. [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• On July 19, 2026, Mexican authorities arrested Justo Aurelio Rivera Parrazales, identified as one of the CDN's main financial operators, in Mérida, Yucatán; seized assets — 15 luxury vehicles, jewelry, dollars, firearms and suspected methamphetamine — were valued at over 145 million pesos (US$7.7 million). He is presumed innocent. [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• Former Los Zetas leaders Miguel Angel Trevino Morales ('Z-40') and Oscar Omar Trevino Morales ('Z-42') were extradited to the United States in February 2025 and were awaiting trial as of May 2026. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-05 · official record]
• Former CDN leader 'El Huevo' pleaded guilty to U.S. charges in 2024, per ODNI. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-05 · official record]
• ODNI attributes a March 2022 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo to CDN gunmen responding to El Huevo's arrest. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-05 · official record]
• ODNI attributes a June 2022 attack in Nuevo Leon that killed six police officers to the Cartel del Noreste. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-05 · official record]
• ODNI attributes an August 2024 attack in Tamaulipas that killed two soldiers to the Cartel del Noreste. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-05 · official record]
• Z-40 and Z-42 were among the 29 cartel figures Mexico expelled to the United States on February 27, 2025. [Associated Press (via K-LOVE) · news/research]

Where it operates in Mexico

• The CDN operates primarily in northeast Mexico — Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas — per the May 2026 US intelligence overview. (as of 2026-05-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• The CDN holds near-total control of Nuevo Laredo and the US–Mexico border crossing there — the single busiest land crossing in the United States — and has expanded across Tamaulipas into Coahuila, Nuevo León, Chihuahua, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas and Veracruz, though it remains strongest in Nuevo Laredo. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]
• The May 2026 US intelligence overview estimates CDN membership at probably more than 1,000 members. (as of 2026-05-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• ODNI places CDN's operating area in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas, with a clandestine presence in the United States. (as of 2026-05) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-05 · official record]
• The Associated Press describes CDN's base as Nuevo Laredo, the busiest commercial port on the U.S.-Mexico border. (as of 2025-08) [Associated Press (via SRN News), 2026-04-14 · news/research]

Reported U.S. footprint

• The CDN operates clandestinely inside the United States, in addition to its northeast Mexico base. (as of 2026-05-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-05-01 · official record]
• Treasury describes the CDN as exerting significant influence along the US–Mexico border near Laredo, Texas — the busiest land port of entry on the southern border — including through a casino located just two miles from the US border. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-09-01 · official record]
• CDN founder 'El Kiko' was arrested by US authorities in Baytown, Texas in September 2016, illustrating the cartel's operational footprint on US soil. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-20 · news/research]

Reported presence by Mexican state

Cártel del Noreste (CDN) in the United States

States with specific evidence: Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas.

Cartels in the U.S.: map and state-by-state evidence →

Last reviewed: September 30, 2026. Territory, leadership and advisories change; tell us about errors via our corrections page.