From CBS News: In a joint U.S.-Mexican operation last month, authorities tracked down a cartel leader accused of running a gruesome infant trafficking ring in northern Mexico, according to senior intelligence officials.
Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, known as “La Diabla,” was captured on Sept. 2 after officials say the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, referred to by the U.S. as CJNG, lured a handful of pregnant women — often in vulnerable or impoverished circumstances — to remote areas. Once there, CJNG traffickers allegedly performed illegal cesarean operations on the women, killing the mothers and allegedly harvesting their organs postmortem, and placing newborns into illicit markets, according to senior intelligence officials. The infants were then sold to couples in the United States for as much as 250,000 pesos or roughly $14,000 each, according to the senior intelligence officials.
Mexican authorities were tipped off by intelligence provided by the National Counterterrorism Center, under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. NCTC Director Joe Kent called the scheme an “example of what terrorist cartels will do to diversify their revenue streams and finance operations,” in a statement provided to CBS News, crediting NCTC analysts with tracking Aguilar’s patterns and locations, then coordinating with U.S. intelligence and Mexican partners on the ground.
A press release on the U.S. National Intelligence Director’s website said agencies involved in the arrest included the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) El Paso, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) El Paso, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and was executed by Mexican law enforcement partners and Fiscalia Especializada en la Mujer (the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Women).
Aguilar remains in Mexican custody, CBS News reported.
NCTC Director Joe Kent said in a statement, “Thanks to @POTUS, cartels are finally being treated as terrorists. @ODNIgov’s NCTC recently provided intel to Mexican law enforcement partners that led to the arrest of Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, known as ‘La Diabla’ — a CJNG cartel-affiliated baby trafficker, in Juarez, Mexico.
“Her network lured pregnant women, carried out illegal C-sections, harvested organs, and sold newborns. Just one example of how far these terrorists will go to diversify their revenue streams and fund their operations.”
The National Counter Terrorism Center’s intelligence professionals assisted the Mexican government with stopping some pure evil from the cartels.
I’m proud of our team & grateful for @POTUS & @DNIGabbard’s leadership. https://t.co/b3RQjJR3Ho https://t.co/fBYpiZa0DY
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) September 24, 2025
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