Spanish
Ciudad Juárez, México – Authorities from the United States and Mexico captured on September 2nd Martha Alicia Méndez Aguilar, alias “La Diabla”, alleged member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) accused of leading a baby trafficking ring in northern Mexico.
According to the investigation, Méndez Aguilar lured women in vulnerable situations, performed illegal cesareans on them, murdered the mothers, and then sold the newborns in illicit markets to U.S. citizens, who paid up to 250,000 pesos for each baby, equivalent to about $13,500.
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The arrest was made possible thanks to intelligence information provided by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and involved the collaboration of the Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP), and the Diplomatic Security Service, in coordination with the Specialized Prosecutor for Women in Mexico. NCTC Director Joe Kent described the actions of the detainee as an example of how cartels diversify their sources of income to fund criminal operations. Méndez Aguilar remains in Mexican custody, facing charges of human trafficking in the form of using minors in criminal activities, while the investigation into this criminal network continues.
