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 participate in an operation to dismantle drug laboratories because any security collaboration with the U.S. should be approved by Mexico’s federal government.
Sheinbaum’s comments come after days of contradictions of several authorities following the death of two U.S. officials in a vehicle crash over the weekend as they returned from destroying a clandestine drug lab in northern Mexico.
The two Americans killed 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 cannot be agents from any U.S. government institution operating in the Mexican field,” the president stated during her morning news briefing. She noted that such activities are not part of the current security protocols or the formal understanding between the two nations.
Sheinbaum said the federal government is still investigating a potential violation of national security laws in the still-murky incident.
Two Mexican investigators also were killed in the crash, which Mexican authorities said occurred while the convoy was returning from an operation to destroy drug labs of criminal groups.
Chihuahua State Investigation Agency 
In a news release, the state attorney general’s office identified the two Mexican casualties as first commander of the state investigation agency Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes and officer Manuel Genaro Méndez Montes.
There have been discrepancies in the public accounts of what happened from U.S. and Mexican officials, which experts say underscores heightened U.S. involvement in security operations in Mexico and across the region.
The U.S. agents killed were “instructor officers” who “were carrying out training tasks” as part of binational anti-drug cooperation, state prosecutor Cesar Jauregui told reporters. Jauregui called the targeted labs “one of the largest sites found in the country where chemical drugs were produced.”
Sheinbaum acknowledged Wednesday that the Mexican army participated in the operation – as its mandate includes supporting individual states. However, she emphasized that the federal government was unaware of the U.S. agents’ presence.
Sheinbaum ruled out the possibility that the incident constitutes a new strategy by the Trump administration – which has demanded greater action from Mexico in the fight against cartels.
However, she said she sent a letter to the U.S. ambassador to Mexico requesting that he provide all available information regarding the incident. She also said she plans to speak with the Gov. of Chihuahua, Maru Campos. “It is very important that something like this not be allowed to go unaddressed,” she said.
U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson expressed his condolences on social media but he and other officials provided few details of the incident.
“We honor their dedication and tireless efforts to confront one of the greatest challenges of our time,” Johnson said. “This tragedy is a solemn reminder of the risks faced by those Mexican and U.S. officials who are dedicated to protecting our communities.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly proposed to take action on Mexican cartels – an intervention that Sheinbaum has said is “unnecessary.”
Sheinbaum has resisted the Trump administration’s threats to use airstrikes or ground troops to fight Mexican cartels, instead promoting intelligence sharing with the U.S. while local security forces attack crime groups.
Elite Mexican troops operating with U.S. intelligence killed drug kingpin Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera in February, unleashing a wave of violence that left over 70 dead.
Mexico has announced the dismantling of numerous drug labs in recent months after Mr. Trump threatened possible military action to curb drug trafficking.
In February, Mexican naval personnel discovered a hidden drug laboratory in the country’s Durango region and “neutralized” over 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine. In January, authorities announced more than 1,500 pounds of meth were seized from clandestine laboratories in the states of Durango, Sinaloa and Michoacán.
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