A 39-year-old Mexican woman has been charged by the US government with conspiring to provide material support to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a designation made by Washington earlier this year as one of Mexico’s most violent and feared criminal groups.
María del Rosario Navarro-Sánchez faces multiple charges, including conspiracy to smuggle foreigners, purchasing weapons through intermediaries, cash trafficking, and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, she allegedly participated in a network that trafficked persons, weapons, drugs, and money for the direct benefit of CJNG.
With her indictment, María del Rosario Navarro-Sánchez becomes the first Mexican citizen to be prosecuted in the United States under the new designation of CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization. The move marks a significant escalation in US efforts to combat transnational organized crime and reflects the administration’s commitment to imposing harsher sanctions on those who collaborate with designated terrorist groups.
“The arrest of María del Rosario Navarro Sánchez sends a clear message that anyone seeking to ally themselves with terrorist organizations will be pursued and subject to the maximum penalty under the law,” FBI Director Kash Patel stated in an official statement.
María del Rosario was captured as part of a federal operation in the state of Jalisco, carried out in collaboration with Mexican authorities. Her arrest was confirmed by Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s Secretary of Security, who described her as a key operative of CJNG.
Two other Mexican men are also facing charges for illegal arms trafficking in the same Texas court, further underscoring the US government’s commitment to disrupting the activities of CJNG and its affiliates. The designation of CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization allows US authorities to impose harsher sanctions and broaden their legal scope to pursue members and collaborators.
Source: Debate
