MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - On Friday, May 16th, U.S. prosecutors announced that a Mexican national is facing charges related to providing material support to a terrorist organization for the first time for allegedly conspiring to traffic guns, grenades, drugs, and migrants for a drug cartel.
According to ABC News, an indictment alleging the crimes by 39-year-old Maria Del Rosario Navarro Sanchez was unsealed on Friday in the Western district of Texas. It came a few days after an indictment was unsealed in San Diego, California, against two alleged Mexican drug cartel leaders on narco-terrorism charges.
Navarro Sanchez was arrested by Mexican authorities on May 4th. During her arrest, police recovered a golden AR-15 style assault rifle, among other things. Prosecutors allege that Navarro Sanchez was assisting the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful and violent organized crime groups.
She is alleged to have conspired to give the cartel grenades, buy guns for them, smuggle cash across the southern border, and move drugs. According to the indictment, two men were also charged, though not with providing material support to a terrorist organization. Co-defendant 27-year-old Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez of Mexico, has been charged with conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrants into and transport them in the United States, straw purchasing, and firearms trafficking.
Co-defendant 28-year-old Gustavo Castro-Medina of Mexico, has been charged with straw purchasing and firearms trafficking, conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement, "Cartels like CJNG are terrorist groups that wreak havoc in American communities and are responsible for countless lives lost in the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere. This announcement demonstrates the Justice Department's unwavering commitment to securing our borders and protecting Americans through effective prosecution."
In February, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was among eight Latin American criminal groups designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration. He had called for the move in an executive order signed in January. In a statement, FBI Director Kash Patel said, "The arrest of Maria del Rosario Navarro Sanchez should send a clear message to people who wish to align themselves with terrorist groups that they will be sought out and held to the highest extent of the law."
By designating these cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and specially designated global terrorists, there are much stronger criminal charges that can be brought against them. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is a transnational criminal organization that controls a significant portion of the narcotics trafficking trade and has a presence in nearly every part of Mexico and dozens of other countries, including the U.S.
In addition to trafficking fentanyl, the cartel engages in money laundering, bribery, extortion of migrants, taxing of migrant smugglers, and other criminal activities, including acts of violence and intimidation.
According to the DOJ, the U.S. State Department said that the cartel has conducted attacks on Mexican military and police with military grade weaponry, the use of drones to drop explosives on Mexican law enforcement, and assassinations or attempted assassinations of Mexican officials.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said, "We will never allow criminal gangs and cartels to terrorize American communities. The days of unchecked gang and cartel violence are over."
According to ABC News, an indictment alleging the crimes by 39-year-old Maria Del Rosario Navarro Sanchez was unsealed on Friday in the Western district of Texas. It came a few days after an indictment was unsealed in San Diego, California, against two alleged Mexican drug cartel leaders on narco-terrorism charges.
Navarro Sanchez was arrested by Mexican authorities on May 4th. During her arrest, police recovered a golden AR-15 style assault rifle, among other things. Prosecutors allege that Navarro Sanchez was assisting the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful and violent organized crime groups.
She is alleged to have conspired to give the cartel grenades, buy guns for them, smuggle cash across the southern border, and move drugs. According to the indictment, two men were also charged, though not with providing material support to a terrorist organization. Co-defendant 27-year-old Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez of Mexico, has been charged with conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrants into and transport them in the United States, straw purchasing, and firearms trafficking.
Co-defendant 28-year-old Gustavo Castro-Medina of Mexico, has been charged with straw purchasing and firearms trafficking, conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement, "Cartels like CJNG are terrorist groups that wreak havoc in American communities and are responsible for countless lives lost in the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere. This announcement demonstrates the Justice Department's unwavering commitment to securing our borders and protecting Americans through effective prosecution."
In February, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was among eight Latin American criminal groups designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration. He had called for the move in an executive order signed in January. In a statement, FBI Director Kash Patel said, "The arrest of Maria del Rosario Navarro Sanchez should send a clear message to people who wish to align themselves with terrorist groups that they will be sought out and held to the highest extent of the law."
By designating these cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and specially designated global terrorists, there are much stronger criminal charges that can be brought against them. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is a transnational criminal organization that controls a significant portion of the narcotics trafficking trade and has a presence in nearly every part of Mexico and dozens of other countries, including the U.S.
In addition to trafficking fentanyl, the cartel engages in money laundering, bribery, extortion of migrants, taxing of migrant smugglers, and other criminal activities, including acts of violence and intimidation.
According to the DOJ, the U.S. State Department said that the cartel has conducted attacks on Mexican military and police with military grade weaponry, the use of drones to drop explosives on Mexican law enforcement, and assassinations or attempted assassinations of Mexican officials.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said, "We will never allow criminal gangs and cartels to terrorize American communities. The days of unchecked gang and cartel violence are over."
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