Mexico's President Rejects Claims CIA Involved in Drug Lord Assassinations
Al Jazeera Staff
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on May 13 rejected media reports claiming the CIA directly participated in targeting drug cartels on Mexican territory. She called the CNN and New York Times reports 'lies' and insisted U.S. forces do not operate without permission.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on May 13 rejected media reports claiming that U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents directly participated in operations targeting drug cartels on Mexican territory.
Speaking at a morning press conference, Sheinbaum called the reports from CNN and The New York Times fabrications. "Imagine how big a lie it must be if the CIA itself has to come out and deny it," she said. She also described the New York Times report as "a fiction as large as the universe."
The reaction marked the strongest denial from Mexico's government since the allegations emerged on May 12. Sheinbaum insisted U.S. law enforcement officials do not directly take part in operations on Mexican soil.
On May 12, CNN cited anonymous sources claiming the CIA had conducted an "extensive and previously unreported" campaign targeting drug cartels inside Mexico, including direct involvement in targeted assassinations. CNN pointed to a March 2026 explosion that killed Francisco Beltran, a Sinaloa cartel member, and his driver.
Mexican security law requires foreign agents to obtain federal permission to operate in the country. The CNN report suggested some alleged CIA activities may not have been coordinated with the Mexican government.
The CIA also denied the reports. Agency spokesperson Liz Lyons called them "a false and sensationalized report, nothing more than a PR campaign for drug cartels that endangers American lives."
Mexican Security Minister Omar Harfuch acknowledged that cooperation between the two governments "does exist" but insisted the CNN report was inaccurate. "The Mexican government categorically rejects any story that seeks to normalize, justify, or suggest the existence of lethal, secret, or unilateral operations by foreign agencies on national territory," he wrote on social media.
CNN stood by the accuracy of its report. The episode is the latest in a series of claims about CIA agents operating in Mexico, possibly without federal approval. In April, two U.S. officials, believed to be CIA officers, died in a car crash returning from a raid on a drug facility alongside Mexican security forces. The Sheinbaum administration denied knowledge of CIA involvement in counter-narcotics operations and called for an investigation.
Questions about the potential for U.S. covert operations on Mexican soil have grown since President Donald Trump began his second term in 2025. Trump has sought to influence Mexican policies on crime, border control, and drug trafficking, using tariffs on imports as leverage. He has also threatened unilateral action against Mexican crime networks, a move Sheinbaum said violates national sovereignty.
"We have to get rid of them," Trump said of Mexican drug cartels in March. "We have to beat them because they're getting worse. They're taking over their country. The cartels are running Mexico. We can't let that happen. Too close to us, too close to you."
Mexico and the U.S. have long cooperated on anti-drug efforts through intelligence and security sharing, but direct U.S. involvement is considered a red line in a country with a history of intervention from Washington.
