Mexico's Federal Power at Center of Treason Case

Mexico has charged former Chihuahua Attorney General Cesar Jauregui with treason, alleging he let United States agents take part in an antidrug operation without federal approval. A judge ordered Jauregui held in pretrial detention as the court considers whether there’s enough evidence to proceed with a criminal case. The charge has put control over foreign agents on Mexican territory at the heart of a dispute between state and federal authorities.

Federal Approval, State Operations

Mexican law requires federal approval for foreign forces’ activities in the country. The constitution also requires Senate approval for foreign troops to be present in Mexico. Federal Attorney General Ernestina Godoy accused Jauregui of letting foreign agents join operations on Mexican territory without first informing federal officials.

The case followed an April 19 car accident that killed two US agents and two Mexican law enforcement officials. News outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported the US agents had worked with state law enforcement to destroy a drug lab. But the article didn’t establish that account as a confirmed description of their role.

Accounts of the crash conflicted. Media identified the US agents as members of the Central Intelligence Agency, a US foreign intelligence branch with a history of covert operations. State officials, however, denied the agents had taken part in a drug bust.

In an April 20 news release, Jauregui “ruled out the involvement of foreign personnel” in state drug operations. He said US instructors had been nearby for a drone-training session and later asked to join a convoy of Mexican law enforcement personnel returning to the airport. “It is worth explaining what happened, in order to clarify the facts that are causing some confusion,” Jauregui said. He resigned as state attorney general later that month.

Sovereignty and US Policy

In the days after the crash, President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government hadn’t known US agents were involved in a drug operation in Chihuahua. “Evidently, the military didn’t know there were people participating who weren’t Mexican citizens,” she told reporters. She called for an investigation into whether state officials had followed Mexico’s constitution and its National Security Law, which govern foreign forces’ involvement.

Sheinbaum’s administration has worked with the US on crime and insecurity, but opposes cooperation between the United States and Mexican states without prior federal authorization. Matias Gomez Leautaud, an analyst at the US-based risk consultancy Eurasia Group, told Reuters the charge “seeks to set a precedent and prevent cooperation between [Mexican] states and the US government without the federal government’s coordination and approval.”

US actions have fueled concerns about respect for Mexican sovereignty. Those concerns have grown since US President Donald Trump returned to office for a second term. Trump has suggested unilateral US military action in Mexico to address cartel drug trafficking and violence, and has described Mexico’s government as ineffective. “We have to eradicate them,” Trump said of the cartels in March. “We have to knock the hell out of them because they’re getting worse. They’re taking over their country. The cartels are running Mexico.”

A Rare Charge

Experts say Mexican law defines treason vaguely, covering acts that undermine national sovereignty for the benefit of a foreign entity. Convictions are rare. The last widely recognized example came in 1867, when Emperor Maximilian faced a court-martial and later was executed for crimes against Mexico.

Jauregui belongs to the National Action Party, a conservative political movement. Sheinbaum leads the left-wing Morena party. The court must decide whether sufficient evidence supports moving forward with the treason charge, while the reported circumstances of the agents’ presence remain contested.