Day 604 — Mexico Expels Two CIA Agents Who Operated Without Accreditation in Chihuahua Anti-Drug Operation

On May 28, 2026 (Day 604), President Sheinbaum confirmed at her morning mañanera that Mexico has expelled two CIA agents who participated without proper accreditation in the April 19, 2026 anti-drug operation in Chihuahua that dismantled a clandestine synthetic drug laboratory. The operation resulted in the deaths of two CIA agents (Richard Leiter Johnston III and John Dudley Black) and two Mexican AEI investigators; the other two surviving CIA agents entered Mexico legally but did not register their intelligence activities with federal authorities — a violation of Mexican law and sovereignty protocols. Mexico issued a formal diplomatic note requesting the two surviving agents leave the country; they complied. Sheinbaum framed the expulsion as a sovereignty enforcement action rather than a hostile diplomatic move: 'They entered the country with legal status, but they did not register their intelligence activities as required — that is the line that was crossed.' BACKGROUND: The CIA-Chihuahua incident triggered a broader investigation that revealed at least three additional unauthorized CIA operations in Chihuahua during 2026 without federal notification (reported by the Los Angeles Times on April 27). The probe implicated Chihuahua state officials — particularly Governor María Eugenia 'Maru' Campos (PAN) — who allegedly facilitated the unauthorized bilateral security collaboration outside constitutional federal channels. Chihuahua State AG Jáuregui Moreno resigned April 28; Campos refused a Senate summons and was subsequently subpoenaed by the FGR as a witness (scheduled appearance May 27). At the same mañanera, Sheinbaum addressed Governor Campos' FGR summons: 'All Mexicans must understand that collaboration with a foreign government has constitutional limits — sovereignty is not optional.' DIPLOMATIC CONTEXT: The expulsion comes just as USMCA Round 1 formal bilateral negotiations opened in Mexico City (May 28–29), creating parallel tracks of security confrontation and trade cooperation in US-Mexico relations. U.S. officials have not publicly commented on the expulsion. The incident is the most concrete sovereignty-enforcement action of the Sheinbaum administration against the United States.