Mexico’s president weighs in on action after CIA operatives die in an accident following a raid on a drug complex

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that she is considering possible sanctions against the government of Chihuahua – a state bordering Texas – for allowing CIA agents to take part in operations to dismantle drug centers because any security cooperation with the US must be approved by the Mexican federal government.

Sheinbaum’s comments come after several days of conflict between authorities the death of two US officials in a car accident over the weekend as they were returning from destroying a drug operation in northern Mexico.

The two Americans who died in the crash were employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, multiple people familiar with the matter told CBS News. The CIA declined to comment.

“There will be no agents from any US government agency working in the Mexican sector,” the president said while speaking to morning news. He noted that such operations are not part of current security agreements or formal understandings between the two nations.

Sheinbaum said the federal government is like that we are still investigating a possible violation of national security laws in an incident that is still under investigation.

Two Mexican investigators were also killed in the crash, which Mexican authorities said happened as the convoy was returning from a mission to destroy gangs’ drug dens.

In a press release, the attorney general’s office identified the two Mexican victims as the first head of the government’s investigative agency Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes and officer Manuel Genaro Méndez Montes.

There have been conflicting public accounts of the incident between US and Mexican officials, which experts say underscores US involvement in security operations in Mexico and throughout the region.

The US ambassadors were killed by “police officers” who were “conducting a training exercise” as part of the cooperation between the fight against drugs, state prosecutor Cesar Jauregui told the press. Jauregui called the targeted labs “one of the largest facilities in the country where chemical drugs are produced.”

Sheinbaum acknowledged Wednesday that the Mexican military was involved in the operation — as its mandate includes supporting individual countries. However, he insisted that the federal government was unaware of the presence of US agents.

Sheinbaum dismissed the possibility that the incident is a new strategy by the Trump administration – which has demanded greater action from Mexico in the fight against the companies.

Later that day, Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said at a news conference that although the Mexican federal government regularly shares information with the US, “foreign agents have never been with us in the field.”

Sheinbaum said he sent a letter to the US embassy asking him to provide all available information about the incident. He also said he plans to talk to Chihuahua Gov. María Eugenia Campos.

“It is very important that something like this is not allowed to be ignored,” he said

American Ambassador Ronald Johnson expressed his sadness on social media, but he and other officials gave few details about the incident.

“We honor their dedication and tireless efforts to address one of the greatest challenges of our time,” Johnson said. “This tragedy is a stark reminder of the risks those Mexican and American officials have taken to protect our communities.”

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested taking action against Mexican companies – an intervention Sheinbaum said was “unnecessary.”

Sheinbaum has resisted threats by the Trump administration to use airstrikes or ground troops against Mexican cartels, instead advocating for intelligence sharing with the US while local security forces attack organized crime groups.

Elite Mexican soldiers working with American intelligence have killed drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera in February, releasing a a wave of violence which left more than 70 dead.

Mexico has announced the dismantling of dozens of drug labs in recent months after Mr. Trump has threatened that the military may take action to stop drug trafficking.

In February, Mexican naval personnel found a hidden drug laboratory in the Durango region of the country and “neutralized” it. 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine. In January, the authorities announced more than 1,500 pounds meth was seized from secret laboratories in the states of Durango, Sinaloa and Michoacán.