The U.S. Department of Justice has filed charges against a Mexican cartel member using a newly applied terrorism designation—for the first time—accusing her of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
Prosecutors in the Western District of Texas unsealed the indictment on Friday, alleging that 39-year-old Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez supplied grenades to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
In February, President Trump signed an executive order designating CJNG and seven other criminal organizations as foreign terrorist groups. These include Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel), and Cárteles Unidos.
“Cartels and other transnational organizations threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere,” Trump stated. House and Senate Democrats had urged his administration to use expanded legal tools to target the cartels’ financial operations and impose tougher penalties on those who aid them.
Under federal law, providing material support to designated terrorist groups can lead to up to 20 years in prison and substantial fines. According to the indictment, Navarro-Sanchez not only conspired to supply grenades to CJNG but also engaged in firearms and human trafficking, bulk cash smuggling, and drug distribution for the cartel.
“U.S. law enforcement is intensifying efforts to crack down on unlawful immigration and dismantle smuggling operations involving weapons and narcotics,” said acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas.
Navarro-Sanchez allegedly worked with two Mexican co-conspirators—Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez, 27, and Gustavo Castro-Medina, 28. Davalos-Lopez faces charges including conspiracy to smuggle and transport undocumented immigrants in the U.S., straw purchasing, and firearms trafficking.
Castro-Medina is charged with straw purchasing, firearms trafficking, and conspiracy to possess and distribute a controlled substance.
