2 US officials killed in Mexico crash after anti-drug operation worked
for CIA, AP sources say
[April 22, 2026]
By MEGAN JANETSKY, DAVID KLEPPER and AAMER MADHANI
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. officials killed in a vehicle crash as they
returned from destroying a clandestine drug lab in northern Mexico over
the weekend were working for the CIA, according to a U.S. official and
two other people familiar with the matter.
Two Mexican investigators also were killed in the crash, which Mexican
authorities said occurred while the convoy was returning from an
operation to destroy drug labs of criminal groups. There have been
discrepancies in the public accounts of what happened from U.S. and
Mexican officials, which experts say underscores heightened American
involvement in security operations in Mexico and across the region.
The CIA's involvement was confirmed Tuesday by the three with knowledge
of the crash, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss
sensitive intelligence matters. That the U.S. officials worked for the
CIA was reported earlier by The Washington Post.
It comes after days of contradictions from Mexican and U.S. authorities
about the role that American officials played in an operation to bust a
narco-laboratory in northern Chihuahua state.
The lack of clarity from authorities reignited a debate over the extent
of U.S. involvement in Mexico's security operations as Mexican President
Claudia Sheinbaum faces extreme pressure from U.S. President Donald
Trump's administration to crack down on cartels. Trump has taken a more
aggressive stance toward Latin America than any leader in recent U.S.
history, capturing Venezuela's president, blockading oil shipments to
Cuba and launching joint military operations in Ecuador, a country also
marked by criminal violence.
Trump has repeatedly offered to take action on Mexican cartels, an
intervention that Sheinbaum has said was “unnecessary.”
The CIA officers were initially identified as U.S. embassy personnel by
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson, who is himself a former CIA
employee.
The U.S. Embassy declined Monday to identify the individuals or which
entity of the U.S. government they worked for, but said the officials
were “supporting Chihuahua state authorities’ efforts to combat cartel
operations.” The embassy, State Department and CIA declined to comment
on the identities of reports of CIA involvement in the operation.
Local Mexican officials originally claimed they were working with the
U.S. on an operation, but later walked those comments back after the
effort came under scrutiny from Sheinbaum.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during her daily morning
press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Nov. 28,
2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
Sheinbaum said she knew nothing of a joint operation between
Chihuahua’s government and the U.S. despite reports that the Mexican
army was also involved in the raid on the lab.
She maintained in a Tuesday press briefing that she didn’t know if
the officials were part of the CIA but acknowledged that state
officials and the U.S. “were working together.”
It’s a sensitive issue for the Mexican leader as she walks a careful
line with the Trump administration, working to maintain a strong
relationship to offset threats of U.S. intervention on cartels and
tariffs while also underscoring Mexico’s sovereignty.
The CIA has recently expanded its collaboration with Mexican
authorities, part of the Trump administration’s effort to stop the
flow of illicit drugs.
The presence of U.S. intelligence officials in Mexican territory has
been the subject of ongoing debate, which has only intensified after
Trump’s military actions in Venezuela and Iran.
Last year, Sheinbaum said the U.S. had conducted surveillance drone
flights at Mexico’s request after a series of conflicting public
statements.
The most recent controversy surfaced in January over the detention
in Mexico of former Canadian athlete Ryan Wedding, one of the United
States’ most wanted fugitives. While Mexican officials claim he
surrendered at the U.S. Embassy, U.S. authorities have described his
capture as the result of a binational operation.
“There is a rise of hidden operations by the United States in Mexico
under Trump,” said David Saucedo, a Mexican security analyst.
“They're hidden because … the Mexican government has a discourse
that they can't permit the presence of armed U.S. agents — it's a
kind of violation of sovereignty. The Mexican government has always
tried to hide this collaboration.”
___
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. AP writer Zeke Miller
contributed to this report.
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