Mexico is investigating whether the U.S. violated its sovereignty in 2024 while conducting an operation to capture a drug lord.
CBS News reported that Mexican authorities are looking into the operation that led to the capture of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. The investigation was launched after the FBI used a plane in an exhibition that it said was part of the operation to capture Zambada.
"If one of the U.S. agencies participated in this operation, they would be violating international treaties and the (Mexican) constitution," President Claudia Sheinbaum said.
Zambada was considered one of the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel and was arrested in July 2024. He has since pleaded guilty to charges in the U.S. and was sentenced to life in prison.
The investigation into Zambada's capture is only the latest in a series of controversies involving Mexico and the U.S.
In April, two CIA agents died in a vehicle crash in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua following the destruction of drug labs. The men were not authorized to be working operationally in Mexico. The deaths of the men and how much they were involved in the operation has sparked concerns about U.S. security activities in Mexico and whether the country's sovereignty was violated.
"Mexican law is clear: it does not permit the participation of foreign agents in operations within the national territory," the Mexican Ministry of Security said in a statement. "The Government of Mexico reiterates its willingness to maintain a close, serious, and respectful relationship with the Government of the United States for the benefit of the security of both countries."
The incident also created the potential for a dispute between Mexican federal authorities and local Chihuahua authorities. The operation was led by Chihuahua law enforcement. An initial press release from the Chihuahua Attorney General's office noted that "two instructor officers from the United States Embassy...died in an accident while returning from the operation to destroy clandestine laboratories in the municipality of Morelos."
Also in April, U.S. authorities indicted 10 current and former Mexican officials, alleging that they had worked with drug cartels. Among those indicted was Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, a political ally of Sheinbaum's. Moya denied the charges, and Sheinbaum demanded the U.S. produce evidence of wrongdoing by the officials.
"We are not going to cover for anyone who has committed a crime," she said. However, she also said that Mexico would not allow the U.S. to use the justice system to intimidate Mexican authorities.
"If it is evident that the Justice Department's charges are politically motivated, let there be absolutely no doubt: under no circumstances will we allow a foreign government to interfere in decisions that are the exclusive prerogative of the Mexican people," she said.
