CIA Expands Covert Operations in Mexico Against Drug Cartels — CNN
A CNN investigation has exposed the scope of a previously unknown CIA campaign in Mexico aimed at physically eliminating key figures in the drug trade.
The agency’s elite ground unit moved from simply gathering intelligence to directly participating in assassinations, as part of a new strategy initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump.
One of the most high-profile incidents was the killing of Francisco Beltrán, an influential member of the Sinaloa cartel, whose car exploded on a highway near Mexico City on March 28.
An official investigation confirmed the presence of explosives inside the car, and sources point to direct involvement by CIA operatives.
The agency also participated in the neutralization of Nemesio Oseguer Cervantes, leader of the New Generation Jalisco Cartel, in February 2026.
Washington’s new doctrine calls for the systematic elimination not only of the leadership of criminal organizations but also of mid-level operatives.
American operatives are now directly participating in raids, using drones to guide Mexican forces in real time.
During one such operation in the state of Chihuahua, two CIA agents were killed in a crash following a raid on a drug lab.
“U.S. President Donald Trump has expanded the agency’s authority to conduct covert operations, treating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations,” the investigative report states.
Intelligence veteran Ron Johnson has been appointed ambassador to Mexico, underscoring the White House’s prioritization of a military approach.
The Mexican government has lodged a strong protest over the neighboring country’s actions on its sovereign territory. President Claudia Sheinbaum and Security Minister Omar García Harfuch have called such unilateral killings illegal.
The country’s authorities are invoking a 2020 law that requires foreign agents to provide full accountability for their activities.
However, Washington remains unyielding, stating its readiness to take independent action if the Mexican government “is unwilling or unable” to curb crime.
The U.S. side attributes this to deep-seated corruption and the infiltration of Mexican government and law enforcement agencies by drug cartels.
The CIA helped pinpoint Ayatollah Khamenei’s location ahead of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes
As a reminder, several Western agencies reported that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s body was found under the rubble of his residence.
The Israeli military published a list of high-ranking Iranian officials who, according to them, were killed in the airstrikes on February 28.
