WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- U.S. authorities have ratcheted up pressure on one of Mexico 's most notorious drug cartels , releasing new details about the so-called Gulf Cartel 's operations and offering up to a $ 50 million reward for the arrest of its leaders . These are weapons that the Mexican army said it seized from the ruthless Gulf Cartel in 2008 . A federal indictment unsealed Monday charged Miguel Trevino Morales , a leader of the northern Mexico-based Gulf Cartel , of operating a criminal enterprise , cocaine distribution and firearms violations . Concurrently , prosecutors updated a separate indictment against three other top leaders of the Gulf Cartel : Antonio Cardenas Guillen , Jorge Eduardo Costilla and Heriberto Lazcano , for drug trafficking related crimes , all believed to be at large in Mexico . Fifteen other suspected cartel members are also named in that indictment . `` We have learned that the most effective way to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations is to prosecute their leaders and seize their funding , '' Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said in a statement . To that end , the departments of justice , state and treasury are working together to place pressure on the Gulf Cartel and what authorities describe as its ruthless enforcement arm , known as Los Zetas . The Department of the Treasury designated the four top bosses named in the indictments as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers , which authorizes the freezing of any assets they hold in the United States and other sanctions . The Gulf Cartel and Zetas , nicknamed collectively as `` The Company , '' are among the major drug cartels that are behind the drug-related violence that has swept Mexico in recent years , according to authorities . Since taking office in 2006 , Mexican President Felipe Calderon has made fighting the cartels a major priority . The group also operates in cities across the United States , authorities said . The court documents detail telephone conversations between the four leaders and more than a dozen other cartel members allegedly discussing the transportation and smuggling of cocaine and marijuana into the United States . `` These indictments allege a stunning and sophisticated operation by 'The Company ' to move illegal drugs into our communities and cash back to Mexico , '' Breuer said . The State Department is offering a rewards totaling up to $ 50 million for information leading to the capture of four top leaders and six other cartel lieutenants .
Federal authorities ratchet up the pressure on Mexico 's notorious Gulf War . Federal indictment names Mexico , three other top leaders in drug cartel . Plan to disrupt cartel : ` ` Prosecute their leaders and remove their funding '' Enforcement arm of cartel is known as Los Zetas ; cartel operates in 17 cities .