Mexico charges ex-state attorney general with treason over US agents in drug raid

Mexico has charged César Jáuregui, the former attorney general of the border state of Chihuahua, with treason – a rare step. The charge was announced on Wednesday; a judge ordered him held in pre-trial detention while deciding whether there is enough evidence for a case. Federal prosecutors accuse the politician from the conservative PAN party of allowing US agents to take part in an operation against a drug lab without informing federal authorities. Jáuregui was arrested on 17 October and moved to the Altiplano federal prison on 19 October. If convicted, he faces five to 40 years in prison, according to Mexico News Daily. He is presumed innocent.

The case stems from a raid in Chihuahua in April. After the operation, two US agents and two Mexican officials died in a car crash on 19 April; media identified the Americans as CIA officers. Jáuregui at the time ruled out the involvement of foreign personnel, saying US drone instructors had merely joined a convoy. He resigned later in April. Attorney General Ernestina Godoy calls it an "irregular operation", while President Claudia Sheinbaum described it as "very irresponsible". Governor Maru Campos said in May she had not known of the CIA presence; Sheinbaum says that, as far as she knows, there is no evidence the governor was directly involved.

Under Mexican law, the federal government must approve any activity by foreign forces, and foreign troops require Senate approval. Treason is vaguely defined; the last widely recognised conviction was that of Emperor Maximilian in 1867. Analyst Matías Gómez Leautaud of the Eurasia Group told Reuters the charge seeks to set a precedent against states cooperating with Washington without central government approval. President Trump has for months been raising pressure on Mexico over the cartels.