❓WHAT HAPPENED: Authorities captured cartel leader Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, known as “La Diabla”—”the She-Devil”—who is accused of running an infant trafficking ring in northern Mexico.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mexican authorities, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Mexican Special Prosecutor’s Office for Women.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Aguilar was captured in September 2025, in northern Mexico.
💬KEY QUOTE: “This scheme is an example of what terrorist cartels will do to diversify their revenue streams and finance operations.” – Joe Kent, National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director
🎯IMPACT: The capture highlights Washington’s intensified targeting of Mexican cartels, with expanded U.S. counterterrorism efforts applied to human trafficking and cartel operations.
Martha Alicia Méndez Aguilar, known as “La Diabla” (“the She-Devil”), a senior figure in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), has been arrested in a joint U.S.–Mexican operation. She is accused of running a horrifying infant trafficking ring in northern Mexico that targeted vulnerable pregnant women.
According to U.S. intelligence officials, women were lured to isolated areas where traffickers performed illegal caesarean section operations, resulting in the deaths of the mothers. Their organs were reportedly harvested, and the newborns were sold on the black market for as much as 250,000 pesos, or about $14,000.
The arrest followed an investigation led by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), which worked closely with Mexican law enforcement. NCTC Director Joe Kent praised the analysts involved, stating, “This scheme is an example of what terrorist cartels will do to diversify their revenue streams and finance operations.”
The operation also involved the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in El Paso, the Diplomatic Security Service, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Mexican authorities executed the raid through the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Women.
Méndez Aguilar’s arrest comes amid a broader crackdown on cartels under a new U.S. policy that classifies major criminal organizations, including cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs). The move follows a January executive order by President Donald J. Trump, expanding the use of counterterrorism tools to combat cartel activity.
Since then, over 21,000 cartel members and affiliates have been added to a classified terrorist database, generating more than 35,000 linked identities. U.S. authorities have denied entry to 6,525 individuals connected to these groups. Supporters argue the policy reflects the evolving threat posed by cartels, which increasingly use tactics similar to those of terrorist organizations.
Méndez Aguilar is not the only high-profile figure to be arrested this year in connection with cartel activity. In February, for instance, U.S. Border Patrol agents in Michigan detained Melquiades Salgado-Garza, identified as a leader of hitmen for the Gulf Cartel. In another case, former boxing champion Julio César Chávez Jr. was arrested by ICE in July for alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. He was deported to Mexico in August and is awaiting trial on charges related to organized crime and arms trafficking.
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