US imposes sanctions on Mexican casinos due to cartel connections

(AsiaGameHub) –   Authorities in the United States have imposed sanctions on two Mexican casinos due to their connections with the Cartel del Noreste, an organization previously labeled a terrorist group by the Trump administration.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury has asserted that the Casino Centenario in Nuevo Laredo serves as a ‘stash house’ for drugs and a conduit for laundering illegal money for the cartel.

Additionally, OFAC has sanctioned the Diamante Casino and Comercializadora y Arrendadora de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., the corporation responsible for operating both establishments.

Scott Bessent, the Secretary of the Treasury, stated: “As President Trump has articulated, the Treasury will deploy every available instrument to safeguard our nation from violent cartels seeking to inflict terror upon innocent Americans.

“The Treasury remains committed to targeting the various income sources that cartels depend on to maintain their activities, such as the trafficking of fentanyl and undocumented immigrants into the United States.”

OFAC characterized the Cartel del Noreste as one of ‘Mexico’s most brutal drug trafficking organizations,’ headquartered in Nuevo Laredo, a bustling commercial port situated on the US-Mexico frontier.

This group emerged from the Los Zetas organization in 2014 and faces accusations of involvement in drug smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, and extortion.

In addition to these businesses, Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez has also been sanctioned, facing allegations of overseeing the organization’s human smuggling activities.

Concurrently, OFAC alleges that attorney Juan Pablo Penilla Rodriguez is rendering unlawful services to the cartel, and activist Jesus Reymundo Ramos Vazquez is submitting fraudulent claims against Mexican authorities to disseminate cartel disinformation.

These sanctions freeze assets held by the designated individuals and entities within the US and forbid individuals from conducting business with them in the United States.

OFAC had previously sanctioned five senior members of the group, and this latest measure further emphasizes OFAC’s scrutiny of casino establishments throughout Mexico, which are suspected of being utilized by some of Mexico’s most prominent criminal organizations to launder illicit gains.

Last November, the US imposed sanctions on members of the Sinaloa Cartel-linked Hysa Organized Crime Group, as well as Entretenimiento Palmero, S.A. de C.V. – a casino and entertainment firm owned by one of its members.

In total, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued notices to ten casinos connected to the group.