EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 Two Mexican nationals pleaded guilty in federal court in El Paso in a case involving methamphetamine trafficking, alien smuggling, firearms trafficking and providing material support to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, or CJNG, according to federal prosecutors.<\/p>\n
Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez, 40, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; conspiracy to engage in firearms trafficking; conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States; and conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.<\/p>\n
Gustavo Castro-Medina, 29, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to engage in firearms trafficking.<\/p>\n
According to court documents, Navarro-Sanchez conspired with others to traffic firearms from the United States to Mexico for delivery to CJNG members. Prosecutors said she knew the organization engaged in terrorist activities, including hostage taking, assassinations and the use of explosives and firearms.<\/p>\n
Court documents said Navarro-Sanchez also arranged for people to be smuggled from Mexico into the United States. At least one person who was smuggled managed stash houses in El Paso where firearms and narcotics were stored, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n
In August 2023, Navarro-Sanchez negotiated with undercover agents to buy 20 AK-47-style firearms and two .50-caliber rifles, court documents said. Prosecutors said the weapons were intended to be smuggled into Mexico and used to further drug trafficking, including the movement of methamphetamine into the United States.<\/p>\n
Castro-Medina admitted the firearms were intended to be unlawfully exported to Mexico in connection with drug trafficking, according to court documents. <\/p>\n
Prosecutors said he helped arrange a $3,000 wire transfer to an undercover agent as a down payment on the $66,000 firearms purchase, according to the court document. <\/p>\n
On Aug. 21, 2023, two co-conspirators arrived at a meeting point in El Paso with the remaining $63,000 in cash, court documents said. After the exchange, undercover agents turned over the firearms and the co-conspirators were arrested by waiting agents, according to the documents. <\/p>\n
Castro-Medina also admitted to possessing more than 36 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine during a November 2020 Border Patrol stop in Sierra Blanca, Texas, according to the documents. <\/p>\n
Agents allegedly found tape-wrapped bundles coated in transmission fluid beneath a non-factory trap door in a Nissan Sentra.<\/p>\n
Navarro-Sanchez, Castro-Medina and others were indicted in April 2025. Mexican authorities later transferred the two defendants to the United States under Mexico\u2019s National Security Law, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n
Sentencing dates have not been set. Both Navarro-Sanchez and Castro-Medina face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years in federal prison and maximum penalties of life in prison.<\/p>\n
DEA El Paso Special Agent in Charge Robert \u201cEric\u201d Casta\u00f1eda said the guilty pleas marked part of the agency\u2019s continued efforts against CJNG and its supporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe charges now carry more weight under CJNG\u2019s designation as a foreign terrorist organization,\u201d Casta\u00f1eda said in a statement. \u201cAnyone seeking to profit from the deaths of Americans, no matter their level of involvement, will be brought to justice.\u201d <\/p>\n
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