Overview

• Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar was arrested on Sept. 2 in Juárez after NCTC-provided intelligence guided Mexican authorities, according to U.S. officials.
• Senior U.S. intelligence officials allege the network lured pregnant women, forced cesareans, harvested organs from the mothers, and sold infants for up to 250,000 pesos.
• The operation was executed by Mexican law enforcement and the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Women with support from the U.S. Marshals Service, FBI El Paso, Diplomatic Security Service, and CBP.
• Chihuahua state authorities say Aguilar is jailed in Cereso No. 2 on human trafficking and femicide-related charges, and they report the baby tied to a July 25 case was found alive and hospitalized.
• The case is cited by U.S. officials as an example of using expanded counterterrorism tools after cartel FTO designations, with NCTC adding tens of thousands of cartel-linked identities to its classified database.