On April 1, the Mexican administration and the CIA jointly denied a report claiming US intelligence agents were involved in targeted assassinations of suspected drug cartel members in the Latin American nation.
According to CNN, the CIA was deeply embedded in lethal operations aimed at dismantling drug cartels in Mexico. Specifically, CIA agents "directly participated" in several attacks on drug trafficking organizations since last year, including a March car bombing that killed Francisco Beltran, a suspected Sinaloa cartel member. These operations primarily targeted mid-level cartel figures, with CIA involvement ranging from "passive intelligence sharing" to "direct participation in assassination campaigns."
CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons posted on social media that the CNN report was "false and sensational," adding that it "only serves as a PR campaign for the cartels and endangers American lives."
Mexico's Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfutch also disputed the report, asserting the government "categorically rejects any version that seeks to normalize, justify, or suggest the existence of lethal, covert, or unilateral operations by foreign agencies on national territory." Harfutch emphasized: "Cooperation with the US is real, important, and has yielded appropriate results for both countries. However, this is carried out based on clear principles: respect for sovereignty, shared responsibility, mutual trust, and non-dependent cooperation."
CNN has not yet commented on the denials from the Mexican government and the CIA.
Since returning to the White House in January last year, US President Donald Trump has targeted Latin American drug trafficking cartels in a forceful campaign critics say has exceeded legal and presidential norms. His administration has designated nine Latin America-based cartels as "terrorist" organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Carteles Unidos of Mexico, and conducted dozens of airstrikes on vessels suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing over 190 people.
Trump's anti-drug trafficking campaign has strained relations with Mexico, which US officials identify as a major transit point for most illegal fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine flowing into the US. Last month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum threatened sanctions against the Chihuahua state government for permitting CIA personnel to participate in raids on clandestine drug labs. Sheinbaum said she and other high-ranking officials were not informed of US involvement in these operations, which were uncovered after two Americans allegedly working for the CIA died in a car accident following a drug raid. Under a 2020 law passed by Mexico's Congress, foreign personnel operating in the country must share information with the government and are not entitled to diplomatic immunity.
