Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has ordered an investigation into the role played by two US officials in a counter-narcotics operation in the northern state of Chihuahua.
The two died alongside two Mexican officials when their car crashed on their way back from an operation to destroy illegal drug labs, Chihuahua officials said.
Sheinbaum stated that neither she nor senior members of the federal security team had been informed about any joint US-Mexican operations.
The Mexican leader has been adamant that foreign officials can only operate on Mexican soil if given prior clearance at the federal level.
Sheinbaum has come under pressure from her US counterpart, Donald Trump, to do more to stem the flow of drugs from Mexico to the United States, but maintains that Mexico's sovereignty cannot be breached.
On Monday, Sheinbaum said, we did not have knowledge of any direct work between Chihuahua state and personnel from the US embassy. She emphasized the importance of understanding the circumstances of this incident and assessing its legal implications.
According to a Chihuahua state official, the two US nationals and two members of the Chihuahua State Investigation Agency (AEI) died on Sunday morning when their vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a ravine, where it exploded.
The US ambassador in Mexico, Ronald Johnson, described the two American citizens as US embassy personnel. Chihuahua State Attorney-General César Jáuregui stated that they were instructor officers from the US embassy involved in training work as part of the normal exchange we have with US authorities.\
The accident occurred as they were returning from an operation aimed at dismantling clandestine labs producing synthetic drugs.
Sheinbaum's officials have requested information from both the US embassy and Chihuahua state authorities to evaluate if the operation violated Mexican national security law, which prohibits joint operations without federal approval.
She stressed that, while Mexico collaborates with the US on intelligence sharing, there are no joint operations on land or in the air.\
