By Breitbart News Network | Created at 2026-10-14 23:22:10 | Updated at 2026-10-16 05:34:41
1 day ago
A cartel-connected construction company, now sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, helped build an international port of entry that connects the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon with Texas. The issue sparked much political tension as border state governments attempt to distance themselves from the companies outed by the U.S. government for allegedly helping launder money for the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against four men and 11 companies that worked with or for the CDN-Los Zetas, Breitbart Texas reported. The companies included a horse racetrack with a bar and restaurant, a trucking company, and several construction and gas companies.
A report from the NGO Mexicanos Contra La Corrupcion e Impunidad revealed that one of the construction companies, Construcciones y Edificaciones Garza Elias S.A. (CEGESA), and its owners, Gamaliel Garza Garcia and his son Gamaliel Garza Elias, had several contracts with the state of Nuevo Leon. One of those contracts tied the firm directly to helping construct the Colombia International Port of Entry.
The report revealed that in 2023, CEGESA received two contracts for $94 million Pesos ($5.2 million USD) to construct the toll booths and access roads to the Colombia Port of Entry. The company also received a contract to improve a tourist rest stop at the facility. In 2022, the same company received a contract for 15 million Pesos ($800,000) for landscaping and materials for the port of entry.
The contracts match some of the information revealed by the U.S. Treasury, which pointed to Garza Garcia and his son paying bribes to Mexican officials in exchange for government contracts. Officials allege that their companies were used to launder money for the cartel.
In the neighboring state of Tamaulipas, the state government released a public statement claiming that a review of government records revealed that none of the 11 sanctioned companies nor any of the sanctioned individuals had received any contracts since the current administration took office in 2022.
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 [email protected].
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 [email protected].
