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Former Mexican Prosecutor Charged with Treason Over US Drug Raid
· Confirmed
In Short: Former Chihuahua prosecutor César Jáuregui Moreno was charged with treason for allowing US agents to participate in a drug raid without proper authorization.
Federal prosecutors in Mexico have charged former Chihuahua prosecutor César Jáuregui Moreno with treason, alleging that he allowed US agents to join a drug raid in April without proper authorization, according to Al Jazeera (Qatar) and the BBC (United Kingdom).
The raid took place in Chihuahua, a border state central to Mexico's fight against organized crime, as reported by The Lufkin Daily News. The incident came to light after two US agents and two Mexican law enforcement officials were killed in a car crash on April 19, returning from the scene of the operation, as detailed by Al Jazeera (Qatar) and Stkittsgazette.
Jauregui, in his capacity as state attorney general, initially told a news conference that the US agents were “instructor officers” from the US embassy engaged in “training work as part of the general and normal exchange we have with the US authorities,” according to the BBC (United Kingdom). However, Al Jazeera (Qatar) and Stkittsgazette reported that news outlets cited anonymous sources saying the US agents had been collaborating with state law enforcement in the destruction of a drug lab.
Matias Gomez Leautaud, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, told Reuters that the treason charge seeks to set a precedent and prevent cooperation between Mexican states and the US government without federal government coordination and approval, as reported by Al Jazeera (Qatar) and Stkittsgazette.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has faced pressure from US President Donald Trump to crack down on drug trafficking but has repeatedly declined offers of US-led counter-narcotics operations in the country, according to the BBC (United Kingdom) and The Lufkin Daily News.
Sheinbaum indicated that her government was not aware of the US agents' involvement in the drug operation in Chihuahua, as reported by Al Jazeera (Qatar) and Stkittsgazette. However, the incident has raised questions about whether Mexican law was upheld during the operation, as noted by Al Jazeera (Qatar) and Stkittsgazette.
The incident has also drawn scrutiny from opposition Governor Maru Campos, who has criticized the lack of proper authorization for the US agents' participation in the raid, as reported by The Lufkin Daily News.
Despite the differing accounts of the US agents' role, both Al Jazeera (Qatar) and the BBC (United Kingdom) agree that the former prosecutor was charged with treason for allowing US agents to participate in the drug raid without proper authorization.
What's confirmed
- In a news release on April 20, Jauregui “ruled out the involvement of foreign personnel” in his state’s drug operations.
- Matias Gomez Leautaud, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, a US-based risk consultancy firm, told the news service Reuters that the treason charge “seeks to set a precedent and prevent cooperation between [Mexican] states and the US government without the federal government’s coordination and approval”.
- “Evidently, the military didn’t know there were people participating who weren’t Mexican citizens,” Sheinbaum told reporters at the time.
- News outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported that the US agents had been collaborating with state law enforcement in the destruction of a drug lab.
- “We have to eradicate them,” Trump said of the cartels in March.
- “It is worth explaining what happened, in order to clarify the facts that are causing some confusion,” Jauregui said at the time.
- Mexico has taken the rare step of charging a former state prosecutor with treason, alleging that he allowed United States agents to take part in a drug raid on the country’s territory.
- In the days after the April car crash, Sheinbaum indicated that her government was not aware that US agents had been involved in a drug operation in Chihuahua.
- But questions emerged about whether the law was being adhered to after two US agents and two Mexican law enforcement officials were killed in a car accident on April 19.
What's still developing
- Russia has released a Russian American imprisoned on treason charges that Washington has dismissed as ludicrous, but several other Americans remain in Russian custody.