The arrest of a woman known as the ‘she devil’ has lifted the veil on a Mexican cartel scheme to cut babies out of their mothers’ womb and sell the infants for less than $14,000 to Americans, US officials have confirmed.

Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, 44, alias ‘La Diabla,’ ran a baby trafficking operation for Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in Juarez, Mexico- directly across the border from El Paso, Texas, the National Counterterrorism Center stated after her Sept. 2 arrest.

La Diabla had been luring Mexican pregnant women, often poor and looking for work, to remote areas of the city where the unsuspecting women were then forced into clandestine C-sections.

The infants were ripped out of their bodies, in at least one case with rudimentary tools, and the mother’s organs were harvested for black market sale. 

The newborns were then sold to American couples who paid up to 250,000 pesos or about $13,631 US dollars. 

A gay couple was among the Americans buying the babies, according to Mexican newspaper El Diario de Juarez. 

It’s unclear how many women were killed this way, however, the Mexican border city has had a decades-long history of women disappearing or being found in mass graves. 

Currently over 131,000 people have been reported missing in the country, although the true number is believed to be higher by human rights organizations due to underporting.  

Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, 44, alias ‘La Diabla,’ has been arrested in a joint US-Mexico task force in Juarez, Mexico. The cartel member is accused of luring pregnant woman to clandestine c-sections where their babies were ripped out of their bodies and sold to Americans, US officials said

Leslie Godinez Carrillo, 20, has been identified as one of victims. She was seven months pregnant when her baby boy was cut out of her and she was left to bleed out, Mexican prosecutors claim. Her family searched for her before her remains were found in a the backyard of a home in Juarez, Mexico 

US law enforcement tipped off Mexican officials, who were then able to move in and take La Diabla into custody. 

Mendez has been charged by Mexican officials in the July 25 murder of a 20-year-old pregnant woman who was seven months pregnant when she was tortured, reported El Diario de Juarez. 

The young mother, identified as Leslie GC by officials, was mutilated as blunt tools were used to savagely remove her baby boy from her body. 

Her decomposing remains were found under the patio of a house in Portal del Valle.

Most recently, the cartel henchwoman has been accused of harming Leslie’s baby boy.

Mendez took the child to the hospital, claiming it was hers, however, her story fell apart as doctors asked more questions. The child is alive and hospitalized, according to Mexican media reports.

Additionally, La Diabla is also facing human trafficking charges for recruiting a 16-year-old girl to carry out Leslie’s C-section. 

Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, a.k.a ‘La Diabla’ is being held at a women’s prison in Juarez and facing charges including femicide, human trafficking, and injuries related to the activities of the alleged criminal network

From a helicopter, the international border between the US and Mexico is visible in orange lights. To the right is El Paso, Texas and to the left is Juarez, Mexico, divided only by the wall and the Rio Grande river

Nicknamed ‘Lily’, the 16-year-old had been working for the cartel, El Diario reported. 

She was tasked with finding pregnant woman and bringing them to La Diabla. 

In July, Mendez offered Lily 25,000 pesos or $1,363 US dollars to perform the brutal operation on the expectant mother.

Through a video call with a nurse, the teen was instructed how to cut Leslie’s body open with a kitchen knife.

The crying baby boy was pulled from his mother’s womb who asked, ‘Can I see him,’ Lily told investigators. 

Lily laid the boy on Leslie’s chest, but soon after, the boy was snatched away while other people in the room mercilessly stabbed the bleeding mother. 

La Diabla is being held at a women’s prison where she’s been charged with a slew of crimes including femicide, human trafficking, and injuries related to the activities of the alleged criminal network.

As part of the investigation into Leslie’s case, investigators believe a gay American couple was going to buy the baby. 

It’s unclear how many pregnant women in Juarez were victims of cartel baby-selling scheme, however, at least 131,000 women and men are currently reported missing in Mexico. A vigil for the disappeared was held Sept. 17 in Juarez

A screen grab from the video posted by Jalisco New Generation Cartel on social media where alleged members of the CJNG ask cartels not to attack priests, doctors and teachers

Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) pose for a photo at an undisclosed location, in Michoacan state, Mexico, October 15, 2022

Additionally, information about five other pregnant women who were being targeted by the criminals was found in a phone seized by authorities. 

Lily is now a cooperating witness and is now in hiding and under protection by Mexican authorities.

Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is one of several cartels competing to control Juarez in Northern Mexico.

The border city has long been considered a prize for criminal organizations as a drug and human smuggling gateway to the US. 

CJNG is often at war with the Juarez Cartel for control, which results in violence spilling out into the streets of the 2.5 million person metropolis.