politics
US Indicts Senior Mexican Official and Nine Others for Sinaloa Cartel Ties as Reports of CIA Anti-Cartel Operations Surface
President Claudia Sheinbaum denounced allegations of foreign interference and denied CIA activity on Mexican soil. The statements follow DEA testimony, indictments of Mexican officials and reports of covert US actions against cartels. Tensions have escalated despite recent Mexican cooperation with American authorities.
May 13, 5:31 PM·2m read1 source
The GuardianAudio version
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President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected accusations of high-level collusion with drug traffickers and denied any CIA presence in Mexico on Wednesday, even as fresh American allegations intensified pressure on bilateral relations. ” She added, “We want a good relationship with the United States government. What are our limits?
Sheinbaum was equally blunt about reports of CIA involvement. “It’s false that CIA agents operate in our territory. It’s a fiction about the size of the universe,” she said. The remarks came one day after DEA director Terry Cole testified before the US Senate.
US acting attorney general Todd Blanche had stated last week that there would be more charges against Mexican officials for links to cartels. The US justice department charged Rubén Rocha Moya and nine other current and former Mexican officials for alleged ties to the Sinaloa cartel. The charges accused them of aiding the massive importation of illicit drugs into the United States.
The indictment of the high-ranking Morena party member came with almost no prior warning. Relations have been strained despite concrete Mexican cooperation. In the last year the Mexican government has transferred nearly 100 cartel members to face justice in the US.
Mexican forces killed the leader of the country’s most powerful cartel in February with US intelligence support. ” Tensions rose further last month when reports emerged that several CIA agents were involved in a raid on a drug lab in northern Mexico without approval or prior knowledge from the Mexican federal government.
