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Martha Alicia Méndez Aguilar, aka “La Diabla”, was arrested on September 9 by state agents on a road near the city of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, a few kilometers from El Paso, Texas. She is accused of committing an atrocious crime: killing a 20 -year -old mother to steal her newborn baby, a case in which the Mexican authorities accuse her of femicide and attempt to homicide.
But this would not be an isolated crime. The United States government indicates it as a key piece in a criminal network allegedly linked to the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), which would have operated a baby traffic scheme on both sides of the border.
The US National Intelligence Director’s office (ODNI) said in a statement that “La Diabla” attracted pregnant women – often in vulnerable situations – towards remote areas, where they practiced illegal caesarean sections and, supposedly, were extracted by the organs after their death. Newborn babies were sold to couples in the United States for up to 250,000 pesos (approximately US $ 14,000), according to the ODNI.
The ODNI said that the capture of “La Diabla” was possible thanks to a joint operation with the Mexican authorities, within the framework of the fight against drug cartels, including the CJNG, designated by Washington as a terrorist organization.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office specialized in women’s victims of crime for gender reasons of Chihuahua, Méndez Aguilar would have practiced an illegal caesarean section to a seven -month -old 20 -year -old girl. The autopsy, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, determined that the mother died because she lost a lot of blood because they took out the uterus. His body was found clandestinely days later, without the baby, in a house in the portal of the oak.
The newborn, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, was taken by “La Diabla” to a hospital in the Zaragoza neighborhood and then transferred to the Children’s Hospital, where doctors reported serious injuries and a critical health state, with a reserved prognosis.
The “Diabla” was arrested on September 9 by state agents on the Chihuahua road to Aldama.
For this crime, a control judge in Chihuahua opened a criminal process against Méndez Aguilar, accused of aggravated and attempt at homicide, According to the Prosecutor’s Office of Chihuahua.
The Prosecutor’s Office told CNN that the 44 -year -old woman continues her process from jail while the investigation continues. CNN tries to find out if Méndez Aguilar has legal representation.
The National Anti -Terror Center (NCTC), an American agency attached to the ODNI and in charge of coordinating the efforts against terrorism, says that it provided intelligence information to the Mexican authorities about the location of “La Diabla”, which allowed to dismantle, during a joint operation, the criminal network that allegedly directed.
According to the entity, this capture shows the scope of the anti -terrorism policy of the government of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, against the activities of the drug trafficking cartels such as the CJNG, which he declared terrorist organization along with other criminal groups in February.
“This is an example of what terrorist cartels will do to diversify their sources of income and finance their operations,” said Joe Kent, director of the NCTC.
This designation allows US authorities to apply anti -terrorist tools to dismantle networks and punish the sources of illicit financing of drug traffickers, according to the NCTC.
In addition, according to the authorities, the case highlights the way in which Mexican cartels have diversified their operations beyond drug trafficking. The CJNG, one of the most powerful and violent criminal groups that operates through multiple cells, is also involved in crimes such as fuel theft, extortion or real estate fraud to launder money, according to the administration for US drug control (DEA).
