Mexico Charges Former Prosecutor With Treason Over US Agents' Role in Drug Operation

Mexico has taken the rare step of charging a former state prosecutor with treason, accusing him of allowing US agents to join an anti-drug raid on Mexican territory. The case has thrown into sharp relief sensitivities over American involvement in Mexico and concerns about the sovereignty of the Latin American nation.

According to information made public this week, former Chihuahua Attorney General Cesar Jauregui is accused of permitting US agents to take part in an anti-drug operation in the northwestern border state. Under Mexican law, the federal government must approve any activity by foreign forces on national territory.

Questions about whether the law was followed surfaced after two US agents and two Mexican law enforcement personnel were killed in a car crash on April 19. Media outlets, citing unnamed sources, reported that the US agents had worked alongside state law enforcement in an operation to destroy a drug laboratory.

Matias Gomez Leautaud, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a US-based risk consultancy, told Reuters the treason charge is "intended to set a precedent and prevent cooperation between [Mexican] states and the US government without the coordination and approval of federal authorities."

President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration has cooperated with the US on crime and security matters, but opposes any US effort to work directly with Mexican states without prior federal authorization.

In the days after the April crash, Sheinbaum said her government had not known that US agents were taking part in a drug operation in Chihuahua. "It is clear that the army did not know there were non-Mexican people participating," she told reporters at the time. She ordered an investigation into whether state officials had complied with Mexico's constitution and National Security Law, which governs the involvement of foreign forces on Mexican territory.

The constitution, for example, requires Senate approval for the presence of any foreign military in Mexico. The country has a long history of US intervention, including several military invasions that continued into the early 20th century.

Concerns about US respect for Mexican sovereignty have grown since President Donald Trump returned to office for a second term. Trump has suggested the US could take unilateral military action in Mexico to address drug trafficking and gang violence, and has described the Mexican government as ineffective in tackling the problem.

"We have to wipe them out," Trump said of drug cartels in March. "We have to hit them hard because they're getting worse. They're taking over their country. The drug cartels are running Mexico."

After the April crash, conflicting accounts emerged about why the two US agents were in the country. Media identified them as members of the Central Intelligence Agency, the US foreign intelligence service with a long history of covert operations. State officials, however, denied they had taken part in a drug bust.

In a statement on April 20, Jauregui "rejected the participation of foreign personnel" in the state's drug operations. Instead, he said US instructors had been nearby for a drone training session and later asked to join a Mexican law enforcement convoy to return to the airport.

"It is necessary to explain what happened to clarify the facts that are causing some confusion," Jauregui said at the time. He resigned as state attorney general later that month.

Mexico's federal attorney general, Ernestina Godoy, subsequently accused Jauregui of allowing foreign agents to take part in an operation on Mexican territory without sharing information with federal officials beforehand. A judge ordered Jauregui held in custody while the court considers whether there is enough evidence to proceed with a criminal case.

Experts say the treason charge he faces is vaguely defined in Mexican law, broadly covering acts that undermine Mexican sovereignty for the benefit of a foreign entity. Convictions are rare, with the most widely recognized example dating to 1867, when Emperor Maximilian was court-martialed and later executed for crimes against Mexico.

Jauregui is a member of the National Action Party, a conservative political movement in Mexico, while Sheinbaum leads the leftist Morena party.