The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the targeting of two key leaders of the terrorist organization known as the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas. The move freezes all properties and assets of those two individuals and prohibits any U.S. company or individual from doing business with them.
The CDN-Los Zetas carries out terrorist activity to intimidate U.S. citizens as well as Mexican communities, Treasury officials revealed in a prepared statement announcing the move. As Breitbart Texas reported, Los Zetas have complete control over Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and operate in multiple Mexican States. In addition to drug trafficking and human smuggling, the cartel is behind acts of extortion, kidnapping, and murder.
Los Zetas CDN cartel members are linked to the mass disappearance of thousands of innocent victims throughout Mexico — many of whom have been incinerated or buried in clandestine gravesites, Breitbart Texas reported.
One of the individuals targeted by the U.S. government action is Miguel Angel De Anda Ledezma, a man who authorities claim is not only a high-ranking leader of the CDN, but also a top weapons trafficker. Treasury officials allege that De Anda coordinated groups of straw gun purchasers in Texas and would then have the firearms smuggled into Mexico.
The other man named in the government action is Ricardo “Mando R” Gonzalez Sauceda, who was listed as the organization’s second in command until his arrest earlier this year. As Breitbart Texas reported, Mexican authorities arrested Mando R earlier this year, immediately after U.S. President Donald J. Trump threatened Mexico with tariffs over the relationship between cartels and that country’s government.
The Treasury Department revealed that in 2022, the CDN-Los Zetas cartel was behind a terror-style attack on the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo. The attack followed the arrest of a former leader of that cartel. New information from authorities revealed that the gunmen not only fired at the building but also threw grenades, forcing the building to be closed for over a month. At the time of the attack, the U.S. Department of State did not reveal any official information about the case. The newly released information confirms prior reporting by Breitbart Texas.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at
