John Ratcliffe, director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, looks on as President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing on Iran on April 6 in the James S. Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C. Multiple sources reported Tuesday that two U.S. officials killed in a car crash Sunday in Mexico worked for the CIA. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Two U.S. embassy officials who died in a car crash in northern Mexico after they left the site of a drug raid worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, unnamed sources told multiple media outlets Tuesday.
The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN all reported the story. Two Mexican officials also died in the accident, which took place on the Chihuahua-Ciudad Juarez highway as the officials were returning after an anti-drug operation in the Morelos municipality. Sources said the crash was under investigation. The CIA did not comment.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the prosecutor’s office would investigate if the operation was in keeping with the country’s national security laws and constitution. She said Monday that the government was unaware of any “direct collaboration” between the state of Chihuahua and the U.S. Embassy.
“The relationship is federal, not state,” she said, CNN reported. “They must have authorization from the federal government for this collaboration, which necessarily takes place at the state level, as established by the Constitution.”
Sheinbaum said that if an investigation showed the CIA officials were taking part in a joint operation, the Mexican government would send a formal reprimand to the U.S. government, The Times reported.
This comes as the United States has ramped up its anti-narcotics operations in Mexico significantly, and President Donald Trump has pressured Mexican authorities to allow U.S. forces in the country in an active role. Under Director John Ratcliffe, the CIA has been more involved in anti-drug activities, including using a drone program to spy on drug cartels in Mexico.
The New York Times reported the officials had been at the site of an operation by Mexican armed forces, taking down methamphetamine labs in the mountains. The Chihuahua attorney general said Monday that the officials were not directly involved in the operation but were there for training purposes.
