The two American agents killed in Mexico did not have authorization to intervene in the country, says Mexico.

Two US officials who died in a road accident in Mexico last week after an operation against drug trafficking did not have authorization to intervene in the country, the Mexican Ministry of the Interior announced on Saturday.

“One of the officials, who according to the American press, belonged to the CIA, ‘entered the country as a visitor’ and the other did so ‘with a diplomatic passport’,” the ministry clarified in a statement. The US Ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, stated that they were “two embassy staff members”.

CBS and other American media outlets reported that they were CIA agents, the US agency responsible for foreign intelligence. The death of the two Americans and two Mexican officials in a road accident in northern Mexico on their return from a major operation against drug trafficking was announced by the prosecutor’s office last Sunday.

They had participated in a raid against six clandestine laboratories producing synthetic drugs in Morelos, in the state of Chihuahua (north), bordering the United States, after a three-month investigation. Their vehicle, part of a convoy of five vehicles, skidded off the road and plunged into a ravine.

Initially, the prosecutor of Chihuahua state, César Jáuregui, had stated that Mexican soldiers and members of the Chihuahua State Investigation Agency were also in the convoy. He then explained that the American agents were ‘instructing officers’ who were ‘conducting training tasks’.

However, on Tuesday, Jáuregui gave a new version of events. He indicated that the Americans were providing ‘a course on the use of drones’ in a location about six hours’ drive from where the operation had been carried out. According to him, the American agents then ‘requested permission to travel with the convoy’ consisting of a group of state police officers returning from the anti-drug operation.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Tuesday that the federal prosecutor’s office was investigating potential violations of national security. “Any activity carried out by American agencies on our territory must comply with Mexican laws regarding national security and be authorized by the federal government,” she emphasized.

Under pressure from the government of US President Donald Trump, Mexico has strengthened its anti-drug cooperation with the United States in recent months and extradited dozens of drug traffickers to its northern neighbor.