Treviño Morales brothers arrive at US hearing with powerful legal team

CHAR 

JUNE 12, 2025 

MILENIO 

VIDEO TRANSLATION 

In the United States, the second hearing of the Miguel Ángel  and Omar Treviño Morales brothers, the leaders and founders of the ZETAS Cartel, was held today. They showed their muscle and the amount of money they have to pay for their defense. We have already told you about the Dream Team here. Nine lawyers were sitting there defending them. 

This report is from my colleague Ángel Hernández. In the federal court in Washington, the second hearing was held against Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, alias "El Z40," accused of drug trafficking along with his brother, Omar "El Z42," who did not appear due to scheduling complications. 

Minutes before 11:00 a.m., the chains that bind him could be heard in the courtroom. Treviño arrived accompanied by Alfredo Rangel, alias "El Chicles," former plaza boss of the criminal group in Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas. "El Z40" was dressed in a white shirt, blue overalls, glasses, and his hair was almost A shaved head, as well as a growing beard, shook hands with his lawyers and then, notebook in hand, listened to the judge, the prosecutor, and his defense attorneys. 

Alfredo Rangel, dressed in orange and also wearing glasses, paid equal attention. The nine people who formed part of the Treviño brothers' legal team stood out in front of the three representatives of the U.S. Attorney's Office, led by Frank Pérez, Eduardo Balareso, lawyers also for Ismael Zambada García, El Mayo, and a former lawyer for Joaquín Guzmán Loera, El Chapo. They completely filled the defendants' table. Prosecutor Kenneth Hendrick presented the status of the evidence in the case: 490,000 intercepted calls, transcripts, summaries of information, and other evidence, a total of 4.9 million files that are part of the investigation in Houston, plus another wealth of evidence that the offices of Dallas and Laredo, in addition to the Mexican government, have not yet filed a complaint. 

The judge determined that the third hearing will be on October 14, once the prosecution decides whether it will seek the death penalty against the defendants. He announced that he is preparing motions to demonstrate a potential conflict of interest for Eduardo Balareso, one of the Z40 lawyers, as he is the legal representative of another co-defendant in the case. This is Gilberto Barragán Valderas, alias the former Gulf Cartel leader who was extradited to the United States in 2020. In response, the lawyer denied that he had a conflict of interest and warned that he should demand an explanation as to how Mexico handed the Treviño brothers over to the United States last February because it was clearly not an extradition. According to Milenio Noticias, Ángel Hernández

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Cartel Del Noreste Or Northeast Cartel (C.D.N.) Claim Jailed Gulf Cartel Members Are Using 'CDN' Name For Extortion In Tamaulipas. MAY 30, 2025

 CHAR 

JUNE 8, 2025

BY: CHAR 

On May 29, 2025, Cartel Del Noreste or Northeast Cartel (C.D.N) published an official broadcast distancing their organization from extortion in Tamaulipas. The video is about two minutes and thirty seconds long, in which the C.D.N criminal organization claims jailed Gulf Cartel members in Tamaulipas prisons are using the 'CDN' brand for extortion. In recent weeks, Cartel Del Noreste has been active, waging war in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, now a stronghold of the Gulf Cartel Matamoros faction. Also, in the Ciudad Mier and Miguel Aleman municipalities, armed clashes against the Gulf Cartel Group Metros-CJNG have resumed.

Not to forget, CDN has also started to target law enforcement agencies once again in Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, who are cooperating with rivals. 

VIDEO TRANSLATION 

BY: SOL PRENDIDO 

This notice goes out to the citizens of Nuevo Laredo. Specifically to the general population. We want to inform the residents of Nuevo Laredo that in recent months, the number of cases related to the crime of telephone extortion has increased, affecting respected citizens who seek to earn an honest living.

It’s important to make it clear that we, the Northeast Cartel, don’t participate in or are linked to acts of extortion, kidnapping, or threats by telephone. We also don’t solicit money from the civilian population by any means. Just as well, we reaffirm our respect for people who work honestly, including business owners, transport operators, taxi drivers, social media marketers, and any other citizen who strives to get ahead.

The recent acts of extortion are being committed by prison inmates located in Ciudad Victoria, Altamira, Reynosa, and Matamoros in Tamaulipas, who operate under the orders of the Gulf Cartel. They’re falsely impersonating CDN members to confuse and frighten the population. To avoid becoming a victim of extortion, we recommend that you stay calm in case you receive a suspicious call. 

Don’t provide personal, family, or banking information. Don’t make deposits or transfers. Hang up immediately and report this matter. Verify any information provided by the extortionists directly with your family. Educate minors and the elderly, who are often the most vulnerable to these scams.

Avoid answering calls from unknown numbers and denounce them. Extortionists commonly identify themselves as officials from the district attorney, the governor’s office, or delivery companies. They request that you provide or forward a code sent via WhatsApp with which they can hack your account.

They may also demand that you change the chip on your phone to cut off your communications. Do not comply with these instructions under any circumstances. We reiterate, the Cartel del Noreste doesn’t carry out extortion, nor does it solicit money or threaten citizens. We urge everyone to remain vigilant, avoid being deceived, and report these incidents to the relevant authorities. Only with information, prevention, and collaboration can we halt the spread of this crime, which affects everyone equally.

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FGR Admits Confusion In “Z40” Case: Miguel Angel Treviño's Lawyer; “My Client Is A Homonym”, He Assures

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This article was translated and reposted from EL UNIVERSAL 

Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales has been deprived of his freedom for eleven years without any conviction.

WRITTEN BY: MANUEL ESPINO

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

Eleven judges reached the same decision: Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales is not “El Z40” that the authorities are looking for, emphasized Juan Manuel Delgado, lawyer for Treviño Morales, who has been in prison for eleven years without any conviction.

The litigant affirmed that the Attorney General's Office (FGR) proved that there is a person named Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, with the alias “Z40” and that he is the leader of “Los Zetas”, but it was proven that his client is a homonym.

He recalled that there were more than 10 protected witnesses who testified against his defendant, three of whom, when confronted by his defendant Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, stated that they did know “Z40”, Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, but that the person who was in front of them was not “Z40”.

“Of the entire universe of collaborating witnesses that the Attorney General's Office brought, absolutely all of them coincide in describing Z40 with the same name as my client, Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, as a person of 1 meter 80 centimeters, with a closed beard, but with very clear secondary identification characteristics:

“For example, everyone talks about him having a scar on his right parietal, a prolonged scar on his abdomen, a scar on his right arm, a very large tattoo on his chest, but those characteristics do not correspond to Mr. Miguel,” he said.

And he added: “If there are 10 protected witnesses to talk about a judicial error, we could understand that a judge could make a mistake, but that at the moment 11 judges have reached the same determination, I think it is beyond reasonable, the doubt, let's say for the general public, that there is an error in the identification of Z40, but what there is no doubt is that it is an established legal truth and against and against a legal truth, we will have to go against the rule of law itself to have it dismissed. Today it has already been accredited by the Judicial Power that it is not the one they are looking for or the one the United States is requesting”.

Attorney Juan Manuel Delgado assured that by means of expert evidence they accredited that his client, Mr. Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, “never had those tattoos or scars and we accredited that our client has never had those types of characteristics.

Therefore, he said, “as of today there is an irrefutable legal truth” that his client is not “El Z40”, even the litigant pointed out that the FGR has accepted in several replies sent to them that there is a confusion in the identity of his client.

Regarding the extradition process of his client, attorney Juan Manuel Delgado explained that no judicial opinion has been issued on the appropriateness of the transfer to the United States, the country that requires it.

He added that in the ten years he has been defending Mr. Miguel Angel Treviño Morales there has not been any conviction against him and a few months ago he obtained the last acquittal sentence for organized crime.

“We still have one more process pending resolution, which is the process derived from the arrest of Mr. Miguel Angel, which I must say is a process that although it is still under investigation, we are still weaving a defense, there is no sentence, it is a process that is plagued with lies and falsehoods”.

However, he emphasized that all the sentences that exist in Mexico against his defendant Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, are liberties, he has been in preventive prison for 11 years without a single conviction, he is not guilty of anything today and what is even more relevant is that today in Mexico he is not being accused of organized crime, nor is he being accused of being Z40, this is finished”.

SOURCE: EL UNIVERSAL 

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Four Soldiers Linked To Massacre In Nuevo Laredo In 2023 Released From Prison

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This article was translated and reposted from RIODOCE 

JULY 3, 2024

Four military officers detained for the homicides against five young men that occurred on February 26, 2023, in Nuevo Laredo were released from prison, since the District Judge revoked their official pre-trial detention, informed the victims' defense attorney, Edgar Netro Acuña.

Netro Acuña detailed that the federal judge of Reynosa revoked the precautionary measure issued against Juan Carlos "N", Jorge "N", Bernardo "N" and Agustin "N", all of them with the rank of corporal in the 16 Motorized Cavalry Regiment based in Nuevo Laredo. The four had been held in Military Camp Number One, located in the municipality of Miguel Hidalgo, since November 2023.

The lawyer of the victims explained that the defense of the soldiers requested a review of the precautionary measures that another judge had imposed due to their involvement in another process for contempt and military disobedience, a case in which they were acquitted.

The released soldiers will be under random surveillance by the National Guard, they are allowed to approach the relatives of the victims and witnesses of the case. Every Saturday they must report to the address of Military Camp Number One to sign in. In addition, they are obliged to reside in the same camp and are forbidden to leave Mexico City.

SOURCE: RIODOCE 

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