The Narco Blog

Mexico Freezes the Accounts of All 15 Tied to Cártel del Noreste’s Racetrack Across From Laredo, Texas — UIF Cites Cash, Luxury Cars, Jewelry and Transfers Abroad

By The Narco Blog · October 13, 2026 · Updated October 13, 2026

White ten-stall starting gate under a 'La Molienda Race Track' sign on a dirt horse track outside Nuevo Laredo — The starting gate at Club La Molienda, the racetrack outside Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, that the U.S. Treasury says the Cártel del Noreste controls. Image: U.S. Department of the Treasury (public domain).

Mexico has frozen the bank accounts of all 15 people and companies the U.S. Treasury tied to the Cártel del Noreste (CDN) on Oct. 13, 2026. The list includes the network behind Club La Molienda, a horse racetrack outside Nuevo Laredo, across the river from Laredo, Texas. In a statement the same day, Mexico’s Finance Ministry (Hacienda) said its Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) found signs of illicit money: large cash movements, transfers to accounts in Mexico and abroad, and purchases of luxury vehicles, jewelry and real estate, Latinus and Forbes México reported.

What Mexico’s UIF says it found

According to Latinus, Hacienda said the UIF blocked the accounts of “15 sujetos sancionados” by Washington, four individuals and 11 companies, after a financial, tax and corporate analysis. Hacienda described a network of firms in construction, financial services and the equestrian industry. It said the UIF found atypical transactions that did not match the profiles the clients had reported, tax inconsistencies, and companies with little or no identifiable activity.

The four people are horseman Gamaliel Garza García, his son Gamaliel Garza Elías, Nuevo Laredo plaza boss Pablo César Guajardo Álvarez, “El Takia,” and trucking dispatcher Francisco Javier Inzunza Partida, Latinus reported. Hacienda did not say how much money was frozen, Forbes México reported. Hacienda calls such blocks “una medida administrativa preventiva,” a preventive administrative measure, not a court ruling.

The U.S. side of the case

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it coordinated this action, and earlier ones against the CDN, with the UIF. It called this its fourth and largest action against CDN networks under the Trump administration. Treasury says Garza García races at tracks in California and New Mexico. It says his construction firm, CEGESA, funneled CDN money to favored candidates and won Nuevo Laredo and Tamaulipas government contracts. Treasury says La Molienda is controlled by Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, “Z-40,” who is jailed in the U.S. and faces charges in Washington, D.C., along with his brother Omar, “Z-42.”

Booking-style photos of two men side by side, identified by the U.S. Treasury as Z-40 and Z-42 — Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, “Z-40” (left), and Omar Treviño Morales, “Z-42” (right), as shown in Treasury’s Oct. 13 release. This photo is not from the account freeze. Image: U.S. Department of the Treasury (public domain).

No public response from Garza García, CEGESA or La Molienda had been reported by Tuesday night. For border travelers, see our Nuevo Laredo–Laredo safety guide.

Sources

Latinus, “UIF bloquea cuentas de los 15 sancionados del Cártel del Noreste; detecta posibles estructuras corporativas para movilizar recursos ilícitos,” Oct. 13, 2026
Forbes México, “UIF bloquea cuentas vinculadas a una posible red de lavado de dinero sancionada por EU,” Oct. 13, 2026
U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Treasury Targets Cartel del Noreste’s Horse Racing Enterprise and Expansive Criminal Network,” Oct. 13, 2026
Photos: U.S. Department of the Treasury, from the same press release (public domain)

Reported Oct. 13, 2026, from the outlets and the Treasury release above. Hacienda’s statement was read as reported by Latinus and Forbes México. Account blocks and U.S. sanctions are administrative measures, not criminal charges or court findings, and no one named has been convicted in connection with them.