Treason charge filed against ex-Chihuahua attorney general after deaths of two CIA agents

A former attorney general of the Mexican state of Chihuahua could stand trial for treason after being accused of launching a joint operation with U.S. agents without informing the federal government. The case against César Jáuregui has become a flashpoint over foreign involvement in Mexican law enforcement.

The matter traces back to an April operation to dismantle a drug lab in northern Mexico. On April 19, the Chihuahua Attorney General's Office announced the lab had been taken apart in the municipality of Morelos, in the state's mountains. On the return trip, a vehicle in the convoy left the road and plunged into a ravine. Two state officials and two Americans died.

The Mexican victims were identified as Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes, first commander of the state investigation agency, and officer Manuel Genaro Méndez Montes. Jáuregui said at the time that the Americans were "instructor officers" carrying out training tasks under binational anti-drug cooperation. He described the targeted labs as "one of the largest sites found in the country where chemical drugs were produced." The operation ended without arrests because the suspects fled.

The deaths raised questions about U.S. activity on Mexican soil and about President Claudia Sheinbaum's emphasis on national sovereignty. Jáuregui resigned, saying he wanted to clear the way for an inquiry. He was arrested on Oct. 17 on state charges of illegal exercise of public office, and a judge ruled Thursday that those charges can go to trial. Federal officials later added a treason charge, and a federal judge is due to decide Saturday whether to allow the indictment.

According to federal prosecutors, Jáuregui endangered national security by approving the participation of U.S. agents in a field operation, a decision reserved for the federal government. The charge carries a sentence of 5 to 40 years but is considered very hard to prove. Defense attorney Héctor Villasana said prosecutors told a closed hearing they wanted an exemplary punishment to prevent a situation like the U.S. removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. State Department said it is aware of and watching the case but did not link it to the CIA deaths.

Legal experts doubt the charge will hold. Samuel González, a former chief prosecutor for organized crime, said Jáuregui may have failed in his obligations by not informing federal authorities or by allowing foreign agents to carry weapons, but that this would not amount to treason, which he described as a wartime crime. Carlos Pérez Ricart of the CIDE university said the case would have a large public impact even if dismissed, and called it a political decision ahead of the 2027 midterm elections. He warned it "sends a very bad signal to Washington."

Accounts of the Americans' roles have varied. U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson called them "embassy personnel," and multiple people familiar with the matter later told CBS News they were CIA agents. The CIA declined to comment. Mexico's security ministry said one entered as a visitor and the other with a diplomatic passport, and that neither had formal accreditation for operational activities. Two other U.S. agents traveling in a separate vehicle were later expelled, and Sheinbaum said none had permission to operate in Mexico.

U.S. agencies have long operated in Mexico. Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador limited their activities, and Sheinbaum amended the Constitution to bar field operations without express Mexican authorization. Pérez Ricart noted that such actions have often happened without federal knowledge, and that without clear rules they can lead to abuses.