Update on La Diabla Arrest and Human Trafficking Ring

During a White House briefing on Thursday, U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, updated the public on the arrest of La Diabla. It turns out the intelligence that led to her capture in September came from the National Intelligence Fusion Cell.

Last month, collaborative efforts between the U.S. and Mexican authorities successfully dismantled a human trafficking and organ harvesting operation linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, labeled the operation as “insidious” and emphasized it as a significant application of counterterrorism measures against the CJNG, which was labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization earlier this year.

While no additional arrests were disclosed, Gabbard mentioned plans to increase efforts aimed at identifying over 20,000 cartel associates from a U.S. database, along with potential U.S. and Mexican buyers involved in the infant trafficking.

It’s shocking, but estimates suggest more than 200 infants may have been trafficked. Authorities are working to trace these infants in the U.S. using DNA databases and adoption records.

The gruesome operation was led by Martha Alicia Méndez Aguilar, aka “La Diabla,” who was apprehended in Ciudad Juárez after a joint investigation involving multiple agencies, including the FBI and Mexican law enforcement.

Gabbard elaborated on how the trafficking ring lured vulnerable pregnant women to isolated areas controlled by the CJNG, often with fake job offers and promises of financial help. In these locations, illegal Caesarean sections were performed to take the babies, which were later sold to buyers for up to $14,000 each.

The situation is even more horrific, as some women were reportedly killed, and their organs sold on the black market. The investigation remains ongoing, with the exact number of victims yet to be revealed.

The National Counterterrorism Center described the network as part of the CJNG’s broader “terrorist cartel” behavior, highlighting its expansion into human and organ trafficking. This ring predominantly operated in Mexico, exploiting the poverty and instability present in the Juárez region, notorious for cartel violence.

Authorities are still uncovering the full extent of this operation, which has been facilitated by Juárez’s proximity to the U.S. border and the CJNG’s vast criminal connections.

La Diabla faces serious charges in Mexico, including femicide, human trafficking, and organized crime.