Mexico's Security Cabinet Confirms CIA Agents Entered Without Operational Authorization: One as Tourist, One on Diplomatic Passport; Senate Hearing Planned for April 28

Mexico's Federal Security Cabinet issued a formal confirmation on April 25–26 regarding the April 20 crash in the Sierra Tarahumara of Chihuahua that killed two CIA agents and two Mexican AEI (Agencia Estatal de Investigación) investigators: both U.S. agents were operating on Mexican soil without any form of authorization to conduct armed security operations. According to the government statement, one CIA agent entered Mexico using a tourist visa, while the second carried a diplomatic passport — neither credential authorizes participation in drug enforcement operations or the demolition of methamphetamine laboratories that triggered the operation. The SSPC (Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana) and SEDENA (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional) confirmed they had received no advance notification of the joint Chihuahua-CIA operation before the agents died. The LA Times separately reported that at least three additional CIA field operations inside Mexico had taken place in 2026 without federal notification, raising concerns about a pattern of unauthorized U.S. intelligence activity on Mexican territory. Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos, under pressure from President Sheinbaum since April 21, created a special investigative unit headed by Wendy Paola Chávez Villanueva to examine the April 17–18 operation. Sheinbaum announced she would present a full evidence report on the incident at her Monday April 27 mañanera. The Mexican Senate called on Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos and the state Attorney General to appear before the chamber on Tuesday April 28 to account for their role in authorizing the operation. The case has escalated into a constitutional-level confrontation over federal-state authority in foreign security cooperation: Sheinbaum maintained that any cooperation with foreign intelligence services must be authorized exclusively through federal channels (SEDENA, SSPC, SRE), not by state governments acting unilaterally. The Foreign Ministry's formal diplomatic note to U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar, delivered April 23, demanded a full U.S. explanation of the agents' presence and activities.