The United States has made legal history by filing the first-ever terrorism charges against a foreign national for allegedly aiding a Mexican drug cartel designated as a “foreign terrorist organization.”
On May 17, 2025, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed that Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez, a 39-year-old Mexican woman, has been indicted for supplying weapons and grenades to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) — one of Mexico’s most violent and powerful cartels.
CJNG: First Target of Expanded US Terrorism Policy
Navarro-Sanchez’s indictment comes after President Donald Trump, during his second term, expanded the definition of foreign terrorist organizations to include transnational drug cartels.
📜 “Cartels like CJNG are terrorist groups that wreak havoc in American communities and are responsible for countless lives lost,” said US Attorney General Pam Bondi at a press conference.
Alongside Navarro-Sanchez, two other Mexican nationals were also indicted on firearms and narcotics trafficking charges.
The Charges: Grenades, Meth, and Migrant Smuggling
The unsealed indictment accuses Navarro-Sanchez of:
- Supplying grenades and automatic weapons to CJNG
- Trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl
- Assisting in migrant smuggling operations
- Laundering drug money across the border
One of the most dramatic pieces of evidence presented was the seizure of a gold-plated AR-15 rifle, nicknamed “El Dorado”, allegedly found in her possession at the time of her May 4 arrest in Mexico.
Broader Policy Shift Under Trump
On January 20, 2025, Trump signed an executive order labeling international drug cartels as national security threats, paving the way for these new terrorism-related prosecutions.
🏷️ On February 19, the US formally listed eight Latin American groups as foreign terrorist organizations, including CJNG, Tren de Aragua (Venezuela), and MS-13 (Central America).
More recently, on May 2, the US added two Haitian gangs – Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif – to the list.
Critics Warn of Overreach
Not everyone agrees with the new direction.
⚠️ “You could accuse anyone – from a migrant paying a smuggler to a business forced to pay protection fees – of supporting terrorism,” said Will Freeman, a Latin America expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Human rights groups argue that applying terrorist labels to criminal groups may place innocent civilians at legal risk, especially in regions where cartels coerce locals into cooperation.
ICE: A Clear National Security Threat
“Supplying grenades to a designated terrorist organization – while trafficking firearms, narcotics, and human beings – is not just criminal,” said ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons.
“It’s a direct assault on the security of the United States.”
The case marks a landmark moment in US-Mexico law enforcement relations and could pave the way for more terrorism prosecutions against cartel associates.
