CHIHUAHUA — Mexico's government rejected a report alleging that U.S. intelligence operatives participated in targeted assassinations of suspected drug cartel members on Mexican territory. The Central Intelligence Agency issued its own rebuttal to the same report.

"We categorically reject any version that seeks to normalise, justify, or suggest the existence of lethal, covert, or unilateral operations by foreign agencies on national territory," Mexico's Secretary of Security Omar Garcia Harfuch said. Garcia Harfuch acknowledged ongoing bilateral coordination on security matters but set out limits on its scope. "Cooperation with the United States exists, is important, and has yielded relevant results for both countries," he said. "However, it is carried out under clear principles: respect for sovereignty, shared responsibility, mutual trust, and cooperation without subordination," he added.

The report stated that CIA operatives had directly participated in several attacks on drug trafficking syndicates since last year, with operations mostly targeting mid-level cartel members. According to the report, the agency's involvement ranged from passive intelligence sharing to direct participation in assassination operations. A car explosion in March killed Francisco Beltran, an alleged member of the Sinaloa Cartel. Two Americans who were reportedly working for the CIA died in a car crash following a counter-narcotics raid.

"The CNN report is false and salacious and serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk," CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons said.

Last month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum threatened to sanction authorities in the border state of Chihuahua for permitting CIA personnel to participate in raids on clandestine drug laboratories. Sheinbaum said she and other senior members of her government had not been notified of U.S. involvement in the operations. Under a law passed by Mexico's Congress in 2020, foreign agents operating in the country are required to share information with the government and do not enjoy diplomatic immunity.

The U.S. administration has designated nine Latin America-based drug gangs as terrorist organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Carteles Unidos. It has also launched dozens of air strikes on boats suspected of ferrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing more than 190 people.