Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Monday that her government has formally communicated to the United States, via a diplomatic note, that the unauthorized presence of US officials in an anti-narcotics operation in the northern state of Chihuahua should not be repeated.
Incident Details
The incident came to light after two US officials, widely reported to be CIA officers, along with two Mexican officials, were killed in a car crash on 19 April following the operation. Sheinbaum emphasized that the federal government was not aware of the US officials' participation.
“What we told [the US] 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 said during her daily morning press conference.
Diplomatic Response
Mexico requested that “from now on, as has been done, our constitution and national security law should be followed,” Sheinbaum added, noting that the US had indicated its agreement. On Saturday, Mexico’s security cabinet released a statement clarifying that the US officials lacked formal accreditation to participate in security activities in Mexico and that one of them had entered the country as a tourist.
Political Context
The deaths of the two Americans have reignited tensions between the US and Mexico over security cooperation. The presence of US personnel in anti-cartel operations is a deeply sensitive issue in Mexico. Sheinbaum has consistently maintained that while she welcomes intelligence sharing and security cooperation, she will not accept US agents or forces participating in operations on Mexican territory.
In contrast, former President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for greater use of US military force to combat Mexican cartels and has threatened unilateral action if Washington deems Mexico's efforts insufficient.
