The Attorney General’s Office of the Republic (FGR) has officially begun taking statements from those involved in the operation in Chihuahua in which the CIA participated. Members of the State Investigation Agency (AEI) gave their version this Thursday at the FGR headquarters in the Chihuahua locality of Ciudad Juárez. Among the declarants is Arturo Zuani, who is in charge of supervising the Strategic Operations department of the regional Prosecutor’s Office, according to the newspapers El Universal and Milenio. For the moment, neither the FGR nor the PAN government of Chihuahua — amid strong pressure from Claudia Sheinbaum’s Executive — have referred to the hearings.
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This parade of northern state agents occurs just three days after the Attorney General summoned 50 people who participated in the April 19 operation, in which Mexican authorities and CIA agents sought to dismantle a drug lab. After that operation, the two Americans died, along with the director of the AEI and a worker from the agency, in a traffic accident in the Tarahumara mountains.
The incident revealed the presence of foreign intelligence agents in Mexico, a fact unknown to the federal government and which ended up causing a political scandal that has further strained relations with Washington. The controversy generated by that event and the different versions given by the conservative Maru Campos’ Executive to justify collaboration with the Americans led to the resignation of the state prosecutor.
The issue escalated at the National Palace, the seat of the Presidency in Mexico. In her morning press conference, Sheinbaum stated that the four deceased were “working jointly” on a mission of which the federal government was not informed. According to federal laws, regional administrations must have the approval of the central Executive.
The FGR indicated on Monday that the “legal requirements to verify the existence and, if applicable, the status of the credentials and security authorizations of the deceased agents” have already been made. Likewise, the Public Ministry revealed last week that there are two investigation files on this matter. One of them was initiated months ago by local authorities due to the discovery of the drug lab. The other, which is federal, focuses on the possible commission of crimes against national security due to the presence of foreign agents on Mexican territory.
Amid the dust, the White House has taken advantage of the earthquake to intensify its pressure on Mexico, a country that President Donald Trump considers controlled by drug cartels. On Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. president threatened once again his neighbor south of the Rio Grande with starting military operations on land to attack organized crime. “If they are not going to do the job, we will,” he concluded.
