Overview

• Authorities say Martha Alicia Méndez Aguilar is being held in the Ciudad Juárez women’s prison after a Sept. 2 binational operation credited to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center.
• Prosecutors have expanded accusations to include aggravated feminicide, attempted homicide and organized trafficking of infants and organs, presenting testimonial, photographic and communications evidence.
• Investigators allege the network lured pregnant women with promises of work or money, performed clandestine cesareans, and sold newborns mainly to buyers in the United States for up to 250,000 pesos per child.
• A forensic case linked to the probe found a 20-year-old at seven months’ gestation buried in Portal del Roble with death by hypovolemic shock from uterine extraction and no trace of the baby.
• Authorities report suspected coordination with the suspect’s husband and son incarcerated at Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 3, while civil groups demand transparency after courtroom rulings that favored non-vinculation.