Sheinbaum April 27 Mañanera: CIA Evidence Presented, State Officials Blamed for Unauthorized Chihuahua Operations; LA Times Reports 3 Additional CIA Missions in Mexico This Year

At her Monday morning press conference on April 27, President Claudia Sheinbaum formally presented the federal government's evidence surrounding the April 20 crash that killed two CIA agents (Richard Leiter Johnston III, 36, and John Dudley Black, 44) and two Chihuahua State Investigation Agency (AEI) investigators in the Sierra Tarahumara. Sheinbaum stated that under Mexico's National Security Law, only the Chihuahua State Attorney General (César Jáuregui Moreno) or the state's Security Secretary could have authorized the collaboration — meaning state officials, not federal authorities, bear responsibility. She said: 'We hope this is an exception. Cooperation yes, but within a framework of sovereignty and respect for the Constitution.' Ruling out a bilateral crisis, she stated Mexico has 'no desire for conflict' with Washington but demanded the incident not be repeated. Simultaneously, the Los Angeles Times reported — citing unnamed U.S. intelligence sources — that CIA officers participated in at least three additional operations inside Chihuahua state in 2026 without notifying Mexico's federal government, with four CIA agents total involved across the operations (not two as initially reported). The Times further reported that agents wore Chihuahua AEI uniforms to blend in with Mexican officials during these operations. Sheinbaum said consequences for Governor Maru Campos and Jáuregui Moreno would be determined by the ongoing federal investigation. She reaffirmed that any cooperation with foreign intelligence agencies must be channeled exclusively through federal authorities (SEDENA, SSPC, SRE) — never through state governments acting unilaterally. The Senate confirmed its April 28 hearing would proceed, calling on Campos and Jáuregui Moreno to appear before the Constitutional Affairs and Public Security committees.