(NewsNation) — The ringleader of a cartel-affiliated baby-trafficking operation has been arrested as part of a joint effort with Mexican law enforcement, federal officials have announced.
Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, who is known as “La Diabla” and is part of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was arrested on Sept. 2 in Juarez, Mexico, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said on Wednesday.
Agular oversaw an operation that federal officials say lured pregnant women to remote locations and performed illegal cesarean procedures. Cartel members then harvested the organs from the women’s bodies and sold the newborn babies to U.S. couples for 250,000 pesos, which is nearly $13,562 in U.S. currency.
Mexican authorities received intelligence from the National Counterterrorism Center, which operates under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The arrest was made with the support of U.S. Marshals in El Paso, the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“This is one example of what terrorist cartels will do to diversify their revenue streams and finance operations,” Joe Kent, NCTC director, said in a statement. “NCTC delivered critical intelligence on ‘La Diabla’s’ location and developed comprehensive analysis that enabled U.S. and Mexican law enforcement partners to take action.”
President Donald Trump designated transnational criminal organizations like JNGC as foreign terrorist organizations immediately after taking office in January. Federal officials directed the National Counterterrorism Center to begin focusing its intelligence-gathering efforts and vetting resources on terrorists who traffic deadly drugs into the United States.
The agency said that cartels like JNGC use violent tactics to terrorize local communities and take control of those areas in ways that allow them to engage in profitable criminal activity.