Mexico says two US federal agents killed in Mexico lacked authorization

Mexico’s security cabinet said two U.S. federal agents killed in Chihuahua had no formal authorization to take part in operational work on Mexican soil, a sharp rebuke that turns a deadly crash into a sovereignty dispute. One entered Mexico as a visitor and the other on a diplomatic passport, but neither had accreditation to join field operations, officials said.

The deaths occurred after an anti-narcotics operation in the mountains of Chihuahua, where Mexican authorities had been targeting clandestine drug laboratories in the municipality of Morelos. State prosecutors said the effort uncovered six illegal labs after about three months of investigation by the state investigative agency and the army. The vehicle carrying the four victims, including two Mexican officers, crashed in rugged terrain and exploded.

The incident exposed a gap between Mexico’s public insistence on federal control and the way security work can unfold on the ground. President Claudia Sheinbaum said she was not aware that U.S. embassy personnel were working with Chihuahua authorities, and she said any such security collaboration had to be approved by Mexico’s federal government. She later said she was weighing possible sanctions against Chihuahua’s government and had asked the U.S. ambassador for all available information.

Mexico’s rules for foreign law-enforcement personnel are explicit. Under Article 69 of the National Security Law, accreditation requires consultations with multiple ministries and an assessment by the Security Cabinet. The cabinet’s latest statement said federal institutions and the foreign ministry were not told that foreign agents were operating or would physically participate in an action inside Mexico, underscoring how quickly cross-border cooperation can turn into a test of who was informed, who approved, and who was left out of the chain of command.