(LifeSiteNews) — A joint U.S.-Mexican police operation tracked down and captured a cartel leader accused of engaging in murder and infant trafficking.
According to CBS News, Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, known as “La Diabla,” was arrested on September 2 in northern Mexico. According to law enforcement officials, Aguilar, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG in the U.S., lured pregnant women in impoverished or otherwise vulnerable circumstances to remote areas. CJNG traffickers then performed illegal caesarean sections on the women, killing the mothers and harvesting their organs, officials say. The newborns were then allegedly sold to couples in the United States for around 250,000 pesos ($14,000).
The U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, tipped off Mexican authorities, leading to the arrest. NTCT Director Joe Kent said the cartel’s scheme was an “example of what terrorist cartels will do to diversify their revenue streams and finance operations.”
The arrest involved support from the FBI El Paso, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Diplomatic Security Service, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Mexican law enforcement carried out the operation together with “Fiscalia Especializada en la Mujer,” or the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Women.
According to senior intelligence officials, CJNG leader Aguilar remains in Mexican custody, while the investigation into the alleged trafficking ring continues.
The case highlights the Trump administration’s increased commitment to fighting Mexican cartels and foreign gangs. In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directed the State Department to designate transnational gangs and cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs). The State Department subsequently designated eight gangs as FTOs, including CJNG.
The capture of Aguilar shows U.S. counterterrorism policy now not only focuses on narcotics traffickers, but also human traffickers and violent terror groups like CJNG, who are known for their brutality and de facto control over parts of Mexican territory.
The NCTC reports that U.S. intelligence has added more than 21,000 cartel members and affiliates to its classified terrorist database since the policy change by Trump. In August, NCTC stated that 6,525 terrorists have been denied entry at the U.S. border since the beginning of Trump’s second term.
