The U.S. Justice Department released the above and below photos
and the below information on May 16th:
An indictment unsealed today in the Western District of Texas is
the first in the nation to charge a Mexican national with providing material
support to a designated foreign terrorist organization based on her involvement
with the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), including providing the
cartel with grenades and engaging in alien smuggling, firearms trafficking,
bulk cash smuggling, and narcotics trafficking on its behalf.
“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.” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This
announcement demonstrates the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to
securing our borders and protecting Americans through effective prosecution.”
According to court documents, Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez,
39, of Mexico, conspired with others to provide and did attempt to provide
grenades to CJNG, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Additionally,
Navarro-Sanchez, is charged with conspiracy to smuggle and transport aliens in
the United States, straw purchasing and trafficking in firearms, bulk cash
smuggling conspiracy, and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with
intent to distribute. Co-defendant Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez, 27, of Mexico, is
charged with conspiracy to smuggle illegal aliens into and transport aliens in
the United States, straw purchasing and firearms trafficking. Co-defendant
Gustavo Castro-Medina, 28, of Mexico, is 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.
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. 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.
On Jan. 20, President Trump directed the Justice Department and
other agencies to pursue total elimination of cartels and transnational
criminal organizations because they pose extremely serious threats to the
United States, including by jeopardizing a stable and secure border. These and
other criminal organizations commit brutal and intolerable violent crimes
related to narcotics and firearms trafficking, money laundering, extortion, and
other criminal acts. They also are responsible for huge flows of illegal
immigration into the United States. They organize and facilitate all manners of
illicit travel and immigration into the United States through the southern and
northern borders and rely on co-conspirators and organization members operating
in various countries throughout North and South America. This situation is
untenable and threatens our national security. The Department of Justice and
its law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the United States
against invasion, working urgently toward the goal of total elimination of
cartels and transnational criminal organizations, aggressively enforcing our
immigration laws, and maximizing the impact and effectiveness of all available
law enforcement tools.
“We will never allow criminal gangs and cartels to terrorize
American communities,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi
Noem. “The days of unchecked gang and cartel violence are over.”
“As alleged, the defendant engaged in multiple of the most
insidious kinds of criminal activity: firearms trafficking, narcotics
trafficking, human and bulk cash smuggling, and even providing grenades to
CJNG,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal
Division. “Today’s announcement demonstrates the Criminal Division’s hard work
and commitment to eliminate cartels and foreign terrorist organizations like
CJNG."
“The slew of federal charges we have brought against
Navarro-Sanchez sends a monumental message through the ranks of cartels like
CJNG—now designated as a terrorist organization—along with those who support
them in various capacities, that U.S. law enforcement is turning up the
pressure to crack down on unlawful immigration practices and to dismantle the
smuggling of illicit drugs and firearms,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret
Leachman for the Western District of Texas. “These crimes, all included as allegations
in the indictment, do nothing but place human lives on both sides of the border
in grave danger, while loading the pockets of criminals who profit off of
them.”
“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,” said FBI
Director Kash Patel. “I'm extremely proud of the dedicated men and women of the
FBI and its law enforcement partners who work tirelessly every day to protect
Americans and keep our communities safe.”
“The brutality and destruction inflicted by cartels and
terrorist organizations is devastating communities across the United States and
around the world,” said Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Acting Director Dan Driscoll. “The capture and arrest of Maria Del Rosario
Navarro-Sanchez demonstrates what international law enforcement cooperation can
achieve when united against the threat posed by these violent networks. ATF and
our partners will use every tool at our disposal to relentlessly hunt down,
dismantle, and bring to justice every trafficker, every cartel operative, and
every individual who dares to threaten the safety and sovereignty of our
communities.”
“This case lays bare the true nature of the threat we face,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Robert Murphy. “A cartel associate providing support to a designated foreign terrorist organization is not just a criminal threat—it is a national security threat. DEA will use every tool of law enforcement to dismantle CJNG and its network that floods our streets with poison, traffics in human lives, and wages violence against law and order. We are not just keeping our communities safe from dangerous, illegal drugs—we are fighting a national security crisis.”
“Supplying grenades to a designated terrorist organization—while trafficking firearms, narcotics, and human beings—is not just criminal; it’s a direct assault on the security of the United States,” said Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd M. Lyons. “Sanchez acted as a key enabler of violence who empowered cartels and terrorist organizations. Her crimes extended beyond smuggling; she was involved in firearms trafficking, bulk cash smuggling conspiracy, and a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Her actions endangered countless lives and undermined our efforts to protect the nation’s borders and communities. Confronting this level of criminality demands more than resolve—it requires a unified, all-of-government response, and that’s exactly what we demonstrated today: a coordinated effort to identify, disrupt, and bring to justice those who profit from violence and human suffering.”
Since its establishment, Joint Task Force Alpha’s (JTFA) work
has resulted in increased coordination and collaboration between both domestic
and foreign law enforcement; precedent setting indictments, extraditions and
prosecutions; more than 365 domestic and international arrests of leaders,
organizers, and significant facilitators of these crimes; more than 334
U.S. convictions; more than 281 defendants sentenced, including
significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial seizures and forfeitures of
assets and contraband including millions of dollars in cash, real property,
vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs.
The FBI, ATF, DEA, and Homeland Security Investigations in El
Paso, assisted by the U.S. Border Patrol, investigated the case. ATF Legal
Attachés in Mexico City and the Mexico Attorney General’s Office also known as
Fiscalía General de la República (FGR) Firearms Trafficking Unit provided
substantial assistance. The CBP’s National Targeting Center, and ICE HSI’s
Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. also provided assistance with the
investigation.
The case announced today is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Kyle Myers and JTFA Associate Director Ian Hanna of the Western
District of Texas, and Trial Attorney Marie Zisa of the Criminal Division’s
Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section. The Justice Department’s Office
of International Affairs and Judicial Attachés in Mexico provided substantial
assistance. The Justice Department thanks its Mexican law enforcement partners,
who arrested Navarro-Sanchez on May 4, during an enforcement operation.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide
initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to
repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of
cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our
communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America
streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe
Neighborhood (PSN).
This case is also part of
an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force
Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task
force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model
enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven,
multi jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant
drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal
organizations. The OCDETF El Paso / Las Cruces Strike Force is comprised of
agents and officers from CBP, HSI, DEA, FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation,
the U.S. Marshals Service, ATF, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO), and
the El Paso Police Department (EPPD).
The charges contained in an indictment are
merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Note: The top photo shows 20 AK-47 type firearms and two .50 caliber rifles seized on August 21, 2023, in the Western District of Texas.
The below photos are of a man-made tunnel used to smuggle aliens from Mexico to the United States, an.
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