Two US embassy officials killed in car crash in Mexico were CIA agents: Report

The two US embassy officials who were killed during a car accident in Mexico worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a report says.

According to a report released by CNN on Tuesday, the two US embassy personnel had been collaborating with the CIA and Mexican officials on expanded counternarcotics operations in the country, two people briefed on the matter claimed.

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 reportedly 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.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on 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 … They must have authorization from the federal government for this collaboration, which necessarily takes place at the state level, as established by the Constitution,” she emphasized.

Since the appointment of John Ratcliffe as the new director of the CIA, the spy agency has significantly expanded its operations in Mexico under the guise of counternarcotics operations.

US President Donald Trump claims he has shifted a wide range of counterterrorism authorities and resources to counter-cartel work along the US-Mexico border and inside Mexico itself.

Since 2024, the CIA has begun covertly flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to allegedly spy on drug cartels and has also undertaken a review of its authorities to use lethal force against drug cartels in the country.

On several occasions, Trump has used the issue of drug cartels as an excuse to threaten Mexico with military invasion.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir