High-ranking female member of Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación indicted

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas says their office is the first in the country to charge a Mexican national with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Court documents allege that Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez, 39, conspired with others to provide grenades to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). She is also accused of engaging in human, cash, and firearm smuggling, as well as firearm trafficking on behalf of the cartel, federal prosecutors say.

The indictment was just unsealed today. Navarro-Sanchez has two co-defendants: Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez, 27, and Gustavo Castro-Medina, 28. Davalos-Lopez is charged with conspiracy to smuggle humans into the U.S., straw purchasing, and firearm trafficking. Castro-Medina is charged with straw purchasing, firearms trafficking, conspiracy to posses drugs with intent to distribute, and possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

Mexican law enforcement partners arrested Navarro-Sanchez May 4 during an enforcement operation, according to the Justice Department.

"On Feb. 20, the U.S. Department of State announced the designation of eight international cartels, including CJNG, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and specially designated global terrorists," the spokesperson for the Western District of Texas. "This designation makes available much stronger criminal charges in the fight to secure our nation’s borders. CJNG 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 United States. In addition to trafficking fentanyl, CJNG 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 State Department, CJNG 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."

Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas says the federal charges against Navarro-Sanchez sends a message to cartels like CJNG.

“Today’s historic indictment of Navarro-Sanchez, a high-ranking member of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) for providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization sets a precedent and sends an unmistakable message,” said Special Agent in Charge John Morales for the FBI El Paso Field Office. “The FBI is fully committed to using every resource at our disposal to dismantle this, and any other transnational criminal organization, and bring to justice all who enable, support, or profit from their deadly operations within the United States. The FBI El Paso Field Office is doubling down on our partnerships, both locally and with our Mexican counterparts to relentlessly pursue these cartels, violent gangs, and the organized networks that support them by continuing to aggressively disrupt their supply chains, cut off their funding, and take down their leadership, piece by piece, operation by operation.”