A female cartel leader known as “La Diabla” has been busted in a joint US-Mexican operation for allegedly running a deadly baby-trafficking and organ-harvesting ring, federal authorities announced.
Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, a member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Mexico whose nickname translates as “She-Devil,” allegedly lured poor, pregnant women to remote locations where she would perform illegal C-section operations — often killing the women, CBS News reported.
She would then harvest the dead mothers’ organs and sell their newborns to US couples for up to 250,000 Mexican pesos, or roughly $14,000, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
“This is one example of what terrorist cartels will do to diversify their revenue streams and finance operations,” said Joe Kent, director of the DNI’s National Counterterrorism Center.
He credited his and other US agencies for providing the intelligence that led to Mendez Aguilar’s takedown by Mexican authorities on Sept. 2 in Juarez — directly across the border from El Paso.
“The lives of innocent women and children depended on” her arrest, Kent said.
Mendez Aguilar remains in Mexican custody, senior intelligence officials told CBS News. The investigation into the alleged trafficking ring remains ongoing.
The case shows how US authorities are actively going after Mexican cartel activity across the border since President Trump signed an executive order in January designating cartels and transnational gangs as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs). The Jalisco New Generation Cartel was added to the list in February.
The FTO classification — typically used for groups like al Qaeda — allows the US wider reach to target the organizations, including intelligence, sanctions and military support far beyond resources applied to traditional criminal prosecutions.
