Two members of Cartel Jalisco New Generation pleaded guilty to various federal charges, including providing support to a terrorist organization for their role in helping the cartel’s drug and human smuggling operations, as well as running a large-scale gun supply pipeline based in El Paso.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, at least since 2019, 40-year-old Maria Del Rosario “La Senora” Navarro Sanchez and 30-year-old Gustavo Castro Medina began activities that resulted in them pleading guilty to their roles in the cartel operations based in El Paso.
Credit: Mexico SSPC
A criminal indictment revealed that Navarro ran a series of drug and human smuggling stash houses and also worked with various individuals to illegally purchase a large number of AK-47-type rifles and .50 caliber rifles that they would then arrange to be smuggled into Mexico to supply the CJNG. Castro Medina worked as one of her main associates and messengers.
Federal authorities began looking into La Señora after her name surfaced in ledgers and documents in a series of drug and human stash houses during raids. The stash houses were ultimately run by Navarro, and she relied on her messengers and other associates.
In 2025, U.S. authorities discovered a CJNG tunnel that connected El Paso with the border city of Juarez that was used to move drugs and migrants under the border fence.
Credit: USDOJ
Federal authorities arrested Castro Medina during a smuggling attempt where he had close to 70 pounds of meth hidden inside a Nissan Sentra
Authorities arrested La Señora in Mexico and extradited her to the United States, where she was listed as a wanted fugitive.
La Señora is considered one of the highest-profile cases where U.S. authorities have been able to use the new tools given to them after the Trump administration formally labeled CJNG and six other Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
At sentencing, both Navarro and Castro Medina face a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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