OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
6:54 PM – Thursday, October 23, 2025
U.S. officials provided a detailed update during a briefing at the White House with President Donald Trump and his administration on Thursday, crediting the National Intelligence Fusion Cell for the intelligence that led to La Diabla’s September arrest.
Last month, a joint effort between the two countries resulted in the dismantling of a baby trafficking and organ-harvesting ring linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard provided the update. She described the now-dismantled operation as “insidious” and noted this as a prime example of applying counterterrorism tools against CJNG, designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in February this year.
No new arrests were announced, but she stressed expanded efforts to identify over 20,000 cartel affiliates in U.S. databases — in addition to the American and Mexican buyers who were sold these infants.
Estimates suggest over 200 infants may have been sold, and efforts are underway to trace their locations in the U.S., potentially through “DNA databases and adoption records,” officials say.
The heinous trafficking operation was led by Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, known as “La Diabla,” who was arrested last month in Ciudad Juárez — following a joint investigation involving the National Counterterrorism Center, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and Mexican law enforcement.
According to Gabbard, the ring lured vulnerable pregnant women — often through false job offers or promises of financial assistance — to remote areas controlled by the CJNG. There, illegal Caesarean procedures (C-sections) were performed to extract their babies, which were then sold to American and Mexican buyers for up to around $14,000 U.S. dollars each.
U.S. officials also say that in several cases, the women were later killed, and their organs harvested for sale on the black market. Authorities have not yet released the total number of victims, and the investigation is still ongoing.
The NCTC described the network as part of the CJNG’s broader pattern of “terrorist cartel” behavior, citing its diversification into human trafficking and organ trade. Authorities confirmed that the trafficking ring operated primarily within Mexico, exploiting the poverty and instability in the Juárez region, a known hub for cartel violence.
The newborns were trafficked to buyers through illicit channels, and U.S. and Mexico agencies are still working to identify additional victims and the buyers potentially involved in the disturbing scheme.
Additionally, authorities are still determining the full scale of the trafficking ring, which exploited Juárez’s proximity to the U.S. border and the CJNG’s extensive criminal network. Efforts are currently underway to trace U.S.-based buyers and intermediaries — while both nations are exploring stronger anti-trafficking measures to prevent future atrocities.
La Diabla faces multiple charges in Mexico, including femicide (the intentional murder of women or girls because of their gender), human trafficking, and organized crime.
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