Mexico arrests state official accused of allowing CIA to play unauthorized role in anti-drug operation

Mexico —

Months after a deadly car crash exposed CIA involvement in a raid on a Chihuahua pharmaceutical lab, authorities arrested César Jáuregui, Chihuahua’s former attorney general, for allegedly allowing U.S. spies to participate in the operation without authorization from the Mexican government.

Gilberto Loya Chávez, acting head of the Chihuahua attorney general’s office, said in a video message that Jáuregui was under investigation for illegal exercise of public service and conspiracy of public officials. Jáuregui must appear before a judge, Loya Chávez added, without specifying when.

The arrest, the official said, came after the attorney general’s office found misconduct in an April operation in which state agents dismantled a clandestine drug laboratory.

The CIA’s involvement was revealed shortly after the April 19 raid. That day, while he was still attorney general, Jáuregui himself announced that four people had died in a car crash while returning from a drug operation in northern Chihuahua: two Mexican law enforcement officials and two Americans, whom he identified as instructors from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.

Days later, CNN and other media outlets revealed that the two Americans were not just embassy employees: they were CIA agents. The agency significantly expanded its clandestine anti-cartel operations in the country during President Donald Trump’s second term — including assassinating suspected cartel members and flying drones over Mexican territory.

On Saturday, Loya Chávez was careful to clarify that the problem in question was not the drug raid itself, but rather the participation of U.S. officials outside the bounds of Mexican law.

“This action does not neglect the work of the National Investigative Agency, the State Attorney General’s Office or the Armed Forces in dismantling the clandestine laboratory, because of course this is a very significant result in the fight against organized crime,” said Loya Chávez. “What is under investigation is the manner in which this operation was carried out, the failure to respect the chain of command and applicable protocols.”

“A good result does not justify breaking the law,” the official added.

CNN has contacted Jáuregui’s office to inquire whether he already has legal representation and whether he has pleaded guilty.

The presence of CIA agents in the operation angered the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum, who criticized Chihuahua authorities for failing to provide advance notice and coordination with their federal counterparts, as required by Mexican law. Sheinbaum always insisted that the situation needed to be investigated to determine whether a crime had been committed.

The president said at the time that her office was unaware that Chihuahua state officials and the U.S. government were working independently.

“The relationship is federal, not state,” Sheinbaum said. “They must have authorization from the federal government for this collaboration, which necessarily takes place at the state level, as provided for in the Constitution.”

Shortly after, Chihuahua Governor María Eugenia Campos ordered the creation of a unit to investigate the case.

On April 27, in her first report on the matter, special prosecutor Wendy Chávez said there were indications that the director of the Chihuahua state security agency, who died in the car crash, had “possible unofficial collaboration” with the U.S. agents and did not inform his superiors of their participation in the operation.

Jáuregui resigned as attorney general the same day, declaring that he accepted “political responsibility” for the tensions generated by the case.

“There were omissions both in the information provided and in the institutional management of points of contact with these individuals,” he said.

Until his arrest on Saturday, Jáuregui was seeking the nomination of the conservative Party of National Action for mayor of Chihuahua, the state capital.