The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned three top Los Zetas leaders, as well as a recording artist who not only praised them in his songs but was also allegedly using the music business to launder funds for the criminal organization. One of the newly sanctioned leaders is a former Tamaulipas state police officer who secretly worked as a cartel boss while carrying a badge.
On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that his office had moved to sanction members of the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas and the famed narco rapper El Makabelico. Treasury officials claimed that, in addition to using his concerts and events to launder money, fifty percent of the revenue from online streaming was going to the cartel.
The CDN-Los Zetas is one of six Mexican drug cartels listed as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration. This designation provides the U.S. government with new tools to go after them, including financial tools being used by the Treasury Department. These include financial sanctions and asset freezes. According to U.S. authorities, the CDN-Los Zetas not only operate in Mexico but also have vast networks throughout the United States for drug and human smuggling. In June, federal agents arrested 72 undocumented migrants and other individuals at a cartel bar in North Carolina, where they also seized weapons and drugs.
In the most recent move, Treasury officials went after Ricardo “El Makabelico” Hernandez Medrano, a narco-rapper who gained notoriety in recent years primarily on streaming platforms for his songs praising the CDN-Los Zetas. Authorities claim that the singer’s concerts and events are used for money laundering purposes by the cartel and that half of the revenue from streaming platforms goes directly to the CDN-Los Zetas.
In the new actions, Treasury officials also sanctioned three top leaders of the CDN-Los Zetas. One of the individuals is Abdon Federico “Chucho” Rodriguez Garcia, who is currently listed as second in command of the organization. Chucho was initially arrested in 2013 next to the former supreme leaders of Los Zetas, Miguel Angel “40” Trevino Morales, but as is customary in Mexico’s judicial system, he was later released.
A second cartel leader also listed by the U.S. government is Antonio “Comandante Romeo” Romero Sanchez, a former Tamaulipas police officer who was secretly working for the cartel while carrying a badge. Breitbart Texas has reported extensively on Comandante Romeo and his role within the CDN-Los Zetas, which included numerous murders and beheadings.
The third individual sanctioned by U.S. authorities is Francisco Daniel “Franky Esqueda” Esqueda Nieto, the current leader of the CDN-Los Zetas tactical units.
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 Iortiz@breitbart.com.
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 bdarby@breitbart.com.
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