Maria De La Cruz was the ex-wife of Diego Salvador Martinez Hernandez De La Cruz. Maria arrived in the village in August 2016, with Diego claiming that she was his sister. As Maria brought her belongings into 26 Leigh Road, the McQueen family discovered that Maria's bag contained cocaine, which she had smuggled into the village to be dealt. Maria attempted to blackmail Diego into helping her deliver the drugs, threatening to tell Myra that she really is his wife.
As part of her plan, Maria had Mercedes McQueen deliver the drugs to drug dealer Marco so she could have Marco arrested by the police. Diego confronted Maria a few weeks later, who was nonchalant about Mercedes ending up in prison. Maria planned to flee the village with Diego, but just as they were about to leave, Diego revealed that he had recorded their conversation and called the police. Maria was then arrested.