Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected on Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were involved in raids that dismantled a series of clandestine drug labs in Sinaloa.
The controversy began on Wednesday when the official X account of ICE posted that, with assistance from both Mexican and U.S. agencies, authorities had located and destroyed three clandestine laboratories used by criminal organizations to produce synthetic drugs in the Mexican state.
The post added that the large-scale drug labs were dismantled and narcotics and chemical precursors were seized during a joint operation involving multiple Mexican agencies, including the army, navy and Attorney General's Office (FGR).
Sheinbaum rejected the language on ICE's publication, calling it "false" and stating that no U.S. agency personnel are authorized to participate in operations on Mexican soil.
Three large-scale synthetic drug production labs in Sinaloa were dismantled with narcotics and chemical precursors seized in an operation led by the ICE Homeland Security Investigations vetted unit within the Government of Mexico, Fiscalia General de la Republica, Agencia de… pic.twitter.com/H9X1fafWbu
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) May 14, 2025
During her morning news conference, Sheinbaum told reporters she had been in regular contact with Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero and reiterated that the information shared by ICE was inaccurate.
"There are U.S. agencies that regularly file reports with the Attorney General's Office stating that, based on their intelligence, they are aware of a lab or an incoming shipment of illegal precursors," Sheinbaum said. "A report is filed, and the Attorney General's Office acts on that information using agents from the Ministerial Police, the Criminal Investigation Agency or one of the state prosecutors' offices."
Sheinbaum added that while Mexico and the United States cooperate on security matters, the collaboration is conducted within a framework of mutual respect for each country's sovereignty.
"As I said yesterday, there is coordination, there is collaboration, there is cooperation," she said. "But there is no subordination or involvement of personnel from any U.S. agency in any operation."
During the operation authorities seized and destroyed more than 57,000 pounds of chemical precursors that were allegedly purchased from a Chinese supplier.
According to data from the Sinaloa Secretariat of Public Safety (SSPE), nearly 300 drug labs have been dismantled by Mexican authorities since Feb. 18.
U.S. Embassy Disputes ICE Statement
In a statement on Thursday the U.S. Embassy in Mexico backed Sheinbaum's account detailing that ICE's post was inaccurate. The embassy emphasized that the operation was led by Mexican authorities after ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) shared intel about the location of the clandestine labs.
The letter also added that no American personnel were involved in the operations.
La @USAmbMex informó a #PorLaMañana que no hay agentes de Fuerzas Especiales estadounidenses operando en México y que el operativo para desmantelar 3 laboratorios clandestinos en Sinaloa, estuvo encabezado por agentes mexicanos de la AIC de la @FGRMexico. pic.twitter.com/sQmdb94wCS
— Ciro Gómez Leyva (@CiroGomezL) May 15, 2025
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