Mexican National and Alleged Alien Smuggler Indicted in El Paso on First Material Support of Terrorism Charges for Supporting CJNG

EL PASO, Texas – 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.

“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 United States 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.”

“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.”

“The carnage left behind in the wake of the cartel is devastating to so many in the US and abroad,” stated Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Dallas Field Division. “The capture and arrest of Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez, aka Fernanda, aka Chayo, is a groundbreaking demonstration of what international law enforcement authorities can do to fight the scourge of firearm trafficking and the menace that is the narcotics cartels. This may be one of the first of these charges, but it won’t be the last. Thanks to the multi-agency, ATF-led El Paso Operation Southbound Firearms Trafficking Task Force, for their nonstop commitment to take out one of the key players in the trafficking of firearms across our borders.”

“DEA is known for investigating and successfully convicting numerous narco-terrorism targets,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Arellano for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) El Paso Division. “But this case is a prime example of how DEA is expanding and incorporating more terrorism-related investigative authorities. The men and women of the DEA welcome every tool and every measure available to us to defeat CJNG.”

"This indictment highlights the relentless commitment of Homeland Security Investigations and its law enforcement partners to pursue notorious narco-terrorists like CJNG and their accomplices, such as Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez," stated Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens, for HSI El Paso. "These criminals are pivotal players in an extensive web of organized crime that "This indictment highlights the relentless commitment of Homeland Security Investigations and its law enforcement partners to pursue notorious narco-terrorists like CJNG and their accomplices, such as Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez," stated Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens, for HSI El Paso. "These criminals are pivotal players in an extensive web of organized crime that crosses borders, devastating communities through the distribution of deadly drugs and inciting chaos and violence."

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, Customs and Border Protection and HSI in El Paso investigated the case, assisted by the U.S. Border Patrol. 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 DEA, 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.

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