MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Monday that her administration has formally complained to the United States through diplomatic channels about the unsanctioned participation of American officials in a counter-narcotics mission in northern Chihuahua state.
Four people died in a vehicle accident on April 19 following the drug operation – two American officials and two Mexican personnel. Sources have identified the U.S. officials as CIA operatives. The incident has reignited diplomatic friction between the neighboring countries regarding security collaboration.
The controversy led to the resignation of Chihuahua’s top prosecutor, Cesar Jauregui, late Monday evening. He stepped down after admitting he had given contradictory statements about what happened.
Sheinbaum emphasized that Mexico’s federal authorities had no knowledge that the American officials, reportedly CIA agents, were participating in the mission.
“What we told (the U.S.) was that the federal government didn’t know about the involvement of these people (in the operation) and we hope that it’s an exception,” Sheinbaum stated during her regular morning news briefing.
The Mexican leader said her country demanded that “our constitution and national security law should be followed,” and noted that Washington had expressed its understanding.
The participation of American personnel in anti-cartel missions remains an extremely contentious issue in Mexico. While Sheinbaum supports intelligence coordination and security partnership, she firmly opposes allowing U.S. agents or military forces to conduct operations within Mexican borders.
This stance contrasts sharply with U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach, who has consistently advocated for expanded American military involvement against Mexican drug cartels and has warned that the United States might act unilaterally if Mexico’s efforts prove insufficient.
Mexico’s security leadership revealed Saturday that the American officials lacked proper authorization to engage in security activities within the country, with one having entered Mexico using tourist documentation.
Initially, prosecutor Jauregui claimed the day after the crash that the U.S. officials had not participated in the laboratory raid itself, but were collected by Mexican operatives at a different location afterward. He said they were being transported to the state capital when the fatal accident happened.
However, Jauregui acknowledged Monday that his earlier statements contained inaccuracies, though he did not specify which details were wrong.
“Regarding the events that have come to light around the presence of individuals who identified themselves as alleged foreign officials, the information we initially had – and which I shared with the public – was inconsistent,” he stated in an announcement from the Chihuahua Attorney General’s office, which he also read during a news conference.
“There were omissions both in the information and in the institutional handling of points of contact with those individuals.” He expressed hope that his departure would help authorities “restore public trust.”
