Mexico denies CNN report on deadly CIA operations against cartels

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative file photo — A member of the Mexican National Guard patrols the border wall between Mexico and the U.S. on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Feb. 6, 2025. (REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez)

MEXICO CITY, May 12  -  Mexican authorities and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency on Tuesday denied a CNN news story reporting that CIA operatives have directly participated in fatal attacks on cartel targets in Mexico over the last year.

The CNN story, published earlier on Tuesday and citing anonymous sources, said the CIA has ramped up its covert operations in Mexico through the agency's elite Ground Branch unit. This activity includes directly participating in targeted assassinations, CNN reported.

"The Mexican government categorically rejects any versions (of events) that seek to normalize, justify or suggest the existence of lethal, covert or unilateral operations by foreign agencies on Mexican soil," Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on X.

The CIA, through a post on X from spokesperson Liz Lyons, said of the CNN story: "This is false and salacious reporting that serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk."

A CNN spokesperson on Wednesday told Reuters, "we stand by our reporting." The media outlet added that the CIA comment had come after publication and did not specify what part of the reporting the U.S. agency disputes. 

The presence of CIA operatives in Mexico has strained the bilateral relationship in recent weeks.

On April 19, two U.S. officials died in a car accident in the northern state of Chihuahua after returning from a Mexican security operation to dismantle a drug lab. Three sources told Reuters the officials were CIA officers.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said the federal government was not aware the U.S. officials had been involved in the operation, and has told the U.S. that unauthorized participation of U.S. officials should not be repeated.

The presence of U.S. personnel in anti-cartel operations is a deeply sensitive matter in Mexico. Sheinbaum has long maintained that she welcomes intelligence sharing and security cooperation but will not accept U.S. agents or forces participating in operations on Mexican territory.

In contrast, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for greater use of U.S. military force to combat Mexican cartels, and has threatened ⁠that the U.S. could go it alone if Washington feels Mexico isn't doing enough.

(Reporting by Diego Ore; Writing by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Mark Porter // REUTERS)