Northeast Cartel
The Northeast Cartel (Spanish: Cartel del Noreste, CDN) is a Mexican drug cartel. Originally a splinter faction of Los Zetas founded in 2014 following the arrest of Omar Treviño Morales, it eclipsed its predecessor and is now the dominant cartel in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi. It is currently fighting the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel for control of Tamaulipas, which has led the state to be among Mexico's most violent.
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On March 13, 2022, Mexican National Guard and military personnel arrested Treviño in Nuevo Laredo. This resulted in clashes between them and the cartel's gunmen, however, Treviño was transferred to Tijuana and extradited to the United States. Treviño's cousin Juan Cisneros will likely become boss following his arrest.
The Northeast Cartel is alleged to be linked to a migrant smuggling operation in which 53 migrants died of heatstroke in an abandoned tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas on June 27, 2022. While it is unknown if the four men arrested were part of the cartel, they would likely have had to pay in order to pass through its territory, as the CDN controls a number of international bridges that lead to San Antonio.