US officials killed in Mexico car crash following drug raid worked for the CIA, sources say
A suspected clandestine methamphetamine processing lab
(CNN) — The two US embassy officials who died in a car accident in Mexico on Sunday worked for the CIA and had been collaborating with Mexican officials on expanded counternarcotics operations in the country, three people briefed on the matter confirmed to CNN.
Two Mexican officials who were part of Chihuahua’s State Investigation Agency (AEI) were also killed in the accident. The CIA officers and the Mexican officials were returning from a drug raid in the municipality of Morelos when their car crashed on the Chihuahua–Ciudad Juárez highway, according to initial reports.
The circumstances of the accident are still under investigation, said one of the people briefed.
The CIA declined to comment.
The Washington Post was first to report they worked for the CIA.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that her government had been “unaware of any direct collaboration between the state of Chihuahua and personnel from the US Embassy in Mexico.”
“The relationship is federal, not state,” she said. “They must have authorization from the federal government for this collaboration, which necessarily takes place at the state level, as established by the Constitution.”
The US Ambassador to Mexico posted on X on Sunday that “we are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of two U.S. Embassy personnel, the Director of Chihuahua’s State Investigation Agency (AEI), and an AEI officer in this accident.”
He added that “this tragedy is a solemn reminder of the risks faced by those Mexican and U.S. officials who are dedicated to protecting our communities.”
The CIA has significantly expanded its operations in Mexico under Director John Ratcliffe, and the Trump administration has broadly worked to shift a wide range of counterterrorism authorities and resources to counter-cartel work along the US-Mexico border and inside Mexico itself.
The CIA began covertly flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to spy on drug cartels last year and also undertook a review of its authorities to use lethal force against drug cartels in the country, CNN has reported.
The agency told CNN last year that “countering drug cartels in Mexico and regionally is a priority for CIA as a part of the Trump Administration’s broader efforts to end the grave threat from narco-trafficking. Director Ratcliffe is determined to put CIA’s unique expertise to work against this multifaceted challenge.”
CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed reporting.
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