The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on six people and businesses it said were tied to a money laundering and cash-smuggling network operated by Cartel del Noreste, a Mexican drug trafficking group active near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The new designations target three individuals, two cartel-linked casinos, and a related business. Officials said one of the casinos, Casino Centenario, is located about two miles from the border in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and is used by the cartel to store fentanyl pills and cocaine and to launder criminal proceeds through its gaming operations. Treasury also said the casino’s back rooms were used to torture and intimidate alleged enemies.

In a statement, the department described Cartel del Noreste, or CDN, as one of Mexico’s most violent drug trafficking organizations and said the group is involved in fentanyl trafficking, human smuggling, money laundering and extortion.

The sanctions also target Comercializadora y Arrendadora de Mexico, which operates Casino Centenario and Diamante Casino, another gambling business in Tampico, as well as an online betting site.

The three individuals named in the action were Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez, also known as “Crosty”, Juan Pablo Penilla Rodriguez, and Jesus Reymundo Ramos Vazquez.

Treasury said Islas oversaw human smugglers in Nuevo Laredo and acted as a gatekeeper for moving migrants across the Rio Grande into Texas, while also controlling cash stash houses in Nuevo Laredo. Penilla, a defense attorney, served as an intermediary between imprisoned cartel figure Miguel Angel “Z-40” Trevino Morales and the cartel’s current leadership, helping him maintain a leadership role despite incarceration, Treasury said. 

Ramos led a cartel disinformation campaign against Mexican authorities while presenting himself as a human rights activist, according to the department. 

Read more from the Treasury Department here