Catching up with the CDN

Four months after the March 2015 arrest of Óscar Omar “Z-42” Treviño Morales, Los Zetas under the leadership of José Francisco “Kiko” Treviño Chávez took on the name Cártel del Noreste (CDN). With Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas as their bastion, the CDN has continued to operate over the past ten years under the leadership of various children of Juan Francisco “Kiko Ozuna” Treviño Morales or Ana Isabel Treviño Morales. Let us take a look at a number of noteworthy stories that have popped up recently concerning this cartel.

Sanctions

The United States government has increasingly targeted a number of Mexican cartels, including the CDN in recent months. Following the February 3, 2025 arrest of Ricardo “Ricky” González Sauceda both he and Miguel Angel “El Miguelón” de Anda Ledezma were sanctioned by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). As previously reported, additional CDN members were sanctioned last week, with narco-rapper Ricardo “El Makabelico” Hernández Medrano garnering the most attention. However, three high ranking members of the organization were also sanctioned: Abdón Federico “El Cucho” Rodríguez García, Antonio Romero Sánchez and Francisco Daniel “Franky Esqueda” Esqueda Nieto. Surprisingly the current leader of the CDN, Juan "La Sombra" Cisneros Treviño, has yet to be sanctioned nor has notable financial operator Hilda Georgina Aguirre Treviño. 

La Mojón

Within the Treviño Morales family tree, it is generally believed that Juan “La Sombra Cisneros Treviño is a son of Ana Isabel Treviño Morales, yet her other known children have the last name Monsiváis Treviño, most notably former CDN leader Carlos Alberto “La Bola” Monsiváis Treviño, who was extradited to the United States in February. Another prominent member of this family is Sofía del Carmen Monsiváis Treviño, nicknamed “La Mojón” who was either a high-ranking member or possibly leader of the CDN prior to her arrest in January 2018. In a surprising turn of events it was reported on August 7, 2025 that a judge ordered her release from prison. 

Don Aldo

Another member of the extended Treviño Morales family is Eduardo “Aldo” Treviño Treviño, who was indicted in September 2011 for his role in overseeing the transportation of money from Chicago, Illinois to Nuevo Laredo for Los Zetas; he was arrested in May 2013. While many sources claimed he was a nephew of notable cartel members Miguel Ángel “Z-40” Treviño Morales and Óscar Omar “Z-40” Treviño Morales, this is chronologically impossible as “Don Aldo” was born December 14, 1961 and he was likely a cousin as some reporting stated, or possibly a more distant relative. Despite “Don Aldo” being denied in an injunction to prevent being extradited to the United States it is being said that he was released from Altiplano prison on August 7th.

War Status

Conflict between the CDN and various Cártel del Golfo (CDG) factions have been open-ended. As mentioned in The Tamaulipas Border in 2025, the town of Los Guerra has long been seen as the dividing line between the CDN and the Los Metros faction of the CDG. On July 31, 2025 it was claimed that Los Metros had gained control of the town. Alternately the CDN has waged war against Los Metros in northeast Nuevo León and at one point was making headway into rural parts of Tamaulipas in what appeared to be a campaign against the city of Camargo. While a brief ceasefire was reached in late February, it was quickly broken and fighting resumed. Since then the CDN has been suffering setbacks in this region as Los Metros have claimed to have taken control of Doctor Coss, a ranking member of the CDN was arrested in Cerralvo, and “Cuervo 35” of Operativo Allende was killed.

Amidst these setbacks, one area in which it seems that CDN is making headway is in the Allende-Linares region of southeast Nuevo León. In May unspecified cartel forces got into a shootout with municipal police officers in Montemorelos and in June a major fuel theft operation was decommissioned in Allende. Linares has been a particular hotspot, with the city clerk assassinated on June 7th, two days before he had planned to put in his resignation. Among those arrested for their involvement in the assignation was the coordinator of the municipal women’s council. Days after the assignation the police director in Linares and five members of his security detail were arrested on kidnapping charges and it was said that the police force was infiltrated by an unspecified cartel, likely Los Metros or CDN. Just yesterday the former city clerk was attacked by armed gunmen. Other notable incidents in Linares in the past few weeks include:

• June 9th unspecified cartel forces got into a shootout with Fuerza Civil.

• June 29th sixteen criminals arrested.

• July 14th two people were killed in separate incidents. 

• August 11th man injured after being attacked by gunmen.

It is alleged that the CDN had gained ground in this region when an individual known as “La Cotorra”, who operated in Galeana, Nuevo León left the Cártel de Sinaloa (CDS), specifically the Los Chapitos faction, to join their organization. Nevertheless, it appears that Los Chapitos continued to dominate the Doctor Arroyo-Galeana corridor which they defended against CDN incursions. Armed shootouts between two unnamed cartel groups that took place in Doctor Arroyo in May 2024 were likely perpetrated by these two organizations. Two months later, the CDN hung banners in Galeana against rival groups and Los Chapitos immediately responded in Doctor Arroyo.

While not clearly indicated, it can be assumed that the CDN continues to be actively involved in recent events within the Doctor Arroyo-Galaena corridor. On August 4, 2025 two plastic bags containing a decapitated officer of the Fuerza Civil were left outside of Restaurante Yesenia on Highway 57 with a message that has not been revealed. Days later members of an unspecified  cartel got into a shootout with government forces which resulted in a major weapons seizure in Guadalupe de las Mitras. A decapitated head and at least three plastic bags containing the bodies of two apparent cartel members were reportedly left near ejido Mesa de González on August 10th. 

Alliances

Southwest of this area lies the state of San Luis Potosí where the CDN once had a presence. Over the past few years the Matamoros faction of the CDG has been locked in conflict with the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) for control of the state, with the former aligning with the local Los Alemanes cartel. Since 2023 there have been indications that the CDG Matamoros/Los Alemanes alliance had ended and before dawn on August 6, 2025 banners were hung to announce the return of the CDN in San Luis Potosí against the CJNG in an apparent alliance with Los Alemanes. 

Within the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment it was stated that:

The Los Mayos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel provides CDN with illicit fentanyl, crystal methamphetamine, and cocaine which CDN then smuggles northbound into the United States. The cartel facilitates the sale and distribution of these drugs using routes under control of the Sinaloa Cartel. 

While many have taken this to mean that the CDN is aligned with Los Mayos there is a glaring lack of additional information regarding the relationship between these two cartels from other sources. Due to this void the report should be taken at face value without any additional speculations until supporting evidence emerges, in other words a business relationship exists between the CDN and Los Mayos but beyond this any non-aggression pacts and/or alliances appear to be theoretical.