Day 659: Sheinbaum Calls CIA Covert Ops Report 'Fictions the Size of the Universe'; CIA Denies 'False and Salacious' Story

On Day 659 of the Sinaloa cartel civil war — May 13, 2026 — both Mexico and the CIA denied a bombshell CNN investigation, published May 12, alleging CIA operatives had 'directly participated in deadly attacks on several, mostly mid-level cartel members' on Mexican soil since 2025. The specific incident cited was a March 28, 2026 car bombing on a highway outside Mexico City that killed Francisco Beltrán ('El Payín'), a reported Sinaloa Cartel operator, and his driver. At her May 13 morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed the CNN and New York Times reports as 'fictions the size of the universe' — her sharpest public rejection to date of any US intelligence footprint on Mexican territory. CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons called the reporting 'false and salacious' and said it served as 'nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels.' Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch 'categorically rejected' any foreign covert lethal operations on Mexican soil. Despite the political turbulence, IBTimes and Latin Times reported that US and Mexican authorities are continuing joint anti-cartel operations at the operational level — both governments appear to be compartmentalizing public messaging from actual security cooperation. The allegations arrive on the 15th day of the US-Mexico standoff over the SDNY indictment of Sinaloa Governor Rocha Moya and nine MORENA officials, with Mexico's FGR still considering the US evidence package and the USMCA mandatory trade review looming in June 2026. Running conflict toll: ~2,425+ since September 9, 2024; El Mayo Zambada sentencing scheduled July 20, 2026.