The U.S. government on May 21 sanctioned two leaders of the Mexico-based Cártel del Noreste (CDN) who are accused of being involved in drug and arms trafficking and violent crimes along the U.S. border.
The sanctioned individuals are Miguel Ángel de Anda Ledezma, alias De Anda, and Ricardo González Sauceda, also known as “El Ricky,” both high-ranking members of the CDN in Nuevo Laredo, in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas. González was identified as the second-in-command of the CDN before being arrested in February by Mexican agents.
“This violent transnational cartel and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist is involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, migrant smuggling, and other illicit activities,” the State Department said in a press release.
De Anda is sanctioned for supervising payments to facilitators and front men in the United States and organizing deliveries of firearms to Nuevo Laredo that were later used in attacks against Mexican authorities. One of the weapons acquired in this arms trafficking scheme was recovered after the cartel attacked the Mexican army during one of its patrols in March 2024.
“Some of the weapons have been used in terrorist activity,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement on May 21.
González led the armed wing of the Cártel del Noreste and was involved in arms trafficking, drug trafficking, and attacks on the Mexican police and army.
On Feb. 3, Mexican authorities arrested González in connection with a CDN attack on the Mexican army in August 2024, in which two Mexican soldiers were killed and five were wounded.
Formerly known as Los Zetas, the CDN was designated in February by the Trump administration as a foreign terrorist organization in the Federal Register.
“CDN, one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations in Mexico ... exerts significant influence over the border region, especially near the Laredo/Nuevo Laredo point of entry,” the U.S. Department of the Treasury said in the statement.
The State Department said that in March 2022, the CDN attacked the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo with gunfire and grenades following the arrest of a CDN member wanted in Mexico for murder and extortion.
The sanctions announced on May 21 involve the blocking of assets and property of both individuals located in the United States, which must also be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and a ban on commercial transactions with them.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “CDN and its leaders have carried out a violent campaign of intimidation, kidnapping, and terrorism, threatening communities on both sides of our southern border.
“We will continue to cut off the cartels’ ability to obtain the drugs, money, and guns that enable their violent activities.”
He said that the Trump administration will continue working toward “the total elimination of cartels” and “to make America safe again.”
