Treason Count Filed Against Ex-State Prosecutor After Agents Died

Mexican federal prosecutors have charged former Chihuahua state attorney general César Jáuregui with treason, a count that carries a sentence of 5 to 40 years in prison. A federal judge was scheduled to rule Saturday on whether the indictment may proceed.

The case stems from an April 19 operation in the mountain municipality of Morelos that dismantled a drug laboratory. On the return trip, a vehicle in the convoy left the road and fell into a ravine, killing two state officials and two Americans. The dead state personnel were Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes, first commander of the state investigation agency, and officer Manuel Genaro Méndez Montes.

Federal prosecutors argue Jáuregui put national security at risk by clearing U.S. agents to join a field operation, an authority reserved for the federal government. The state-level charge of illegal exercise of public office was approved for trial Thursday, after Jáuregui had already been arrested Oct. 17.

Authorities have given conflicting accounts of the Americans' work. U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson described them as embassy personnel, while people familiar with the matter said they were CIA agents. Mexico's security ministry reported one entered as a visitor and the other on a diplomatic passport, neither carrying accreditation for operational work. The CIA declined to comment.

Defense lawyer Héctor Villasana said prosecutors at a closed hearing sought an exemplary punishment to prevent a repeat of the U.S. removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. State Department said it is watching the case and did not tie it to the CIA deaths.

Legal specialists cast doubt on the treason count. Samuel González, a former chief prosecutor for organized crime, said failure to inform federal authorities or allowing foreign agents to carry weapons would not amount to treason, which he called a wartime crime. Carlos Pérez Ricart of the CIDE university said the proceeding would draw public notice regardless of the verdict and described it as a political step tied to the 2027 midterm elections.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has amended the Constitution to bar field operations without express Mexican authorization, building on limits imposed by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Pérez Ricart said such actions have often occurred without federal knowledge and that unclear rules can lead to abuses.