The ringleader of a Mexican cartel’s baby smuggling operation was arrested earlier this month in Juarez with the help of U.S. intelligence.
Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, aka “La Diabla,” allegedly headed a ring that would lure pregnant women in, perform illegal cesarean section surgeries on them, then sell the mothers’ organs and the newborns in the U.S. market, sometimes for up to 250,000 pesos, which is roughly $13,600 in U.S. dollars.
U.S. and Mexican authorities just arrested baby trafficking ringleader, La Diabla.
She ran a network to lure pregnant women to remote locations, perform C-sections, harvest the organs from the mothers’ bodies, and sell the babies to couples in the U.S.
MONSTER pic.twitter.com/hrmqHEWKUd
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 25, 2025
According to the National Counterterrorism Center, part of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Mendez Aguilar is affiliated with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, also known as CJNG.
Mexican law enforcement arrested Mendez Aguilar in Juarez, Mexico, on Sept. 2, 2025 in a joint U.S.-Mexico operation that included the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Thanks to @POTUS, cartels are finally being treated as terrorists. @ODNIgov's NCTC recently provided intel to Mexican law enforcement partners that led to the arrest of Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, known as 'La Diabla' — a CJNG cartel-affiliated baby trafficker, in Juarez,… pic.twitter.com/CRNgJWVHkV
— NCTC Director Joe Kent (@NCTCKent) September 24, 2025
“This is one example of what terrorist cartels will do to diversify their revenue streams and finance operations,” NCTC Director Joe Kent said in a statement this week. “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.”
“I am proud of our team’s ability to work with our forward deployed U.S. partners and Mexican law enforcement to stop these horrific acts,” he added. “NCTC remains committed to disrupting all aspects of terrorist cartels and their operations. And in this case, the lives of innocent women and children depended on it.”
The use of counterterrorism intelligence to thwart foreign drug cartels was made possible after President Donald Trump designated transnational gangs and cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
“As a result of these efforts, NCTC is applying two decades of counterterrorism expertise to assist law enforcement partners in targeting FTO-designated cartels, like CJNG, who use violent tactics, terrorize localized communities, and gain control over territory that enables them to engage in profitable illicit activity,” the center said.
“Exceptional work by our team at @ODNIgov National Counterterrorism Center who are working hard every day with our US interagency partners, law enforcement, and Mexican law enforcement to defeat cartels and keep the American people safe, secure and free,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a post on X.
