Ex-Mexican state prosecutor faces treason case over CIA operation
A former top prosecutor in Mexico's Chihuahua state faces a treason case over a drug lab raid with CIA agents, the AP reported in stories run by ABC News and the New York Post. Two CIA agents died in a crash after the April raid. A federal judge will decide Saturday whether to indict him, the AP and Mexico's La Razón reported.
A former attorney general of Mexico's Chihuahua state could face trial for treason over an operation with the CIA, according to Associated Press reports run by ABC News and the New York Post.
César Jáuregui is accused of allowing US agents to take part in a raid on a drug lab in April, ABC News reported. Federal prosecutors say only the national government can make that decision, ABC News said. President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government neither approved the operation nor was informed of it.
The raid took place in the mountains of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, ABC News and the Post reported. On the way back, a vehicle in the convoy went off the road and fell into a ravine. Two state agents and two Americans died. The Post said the Americans were embassy officials working for the CIA.
Jáuregui resigned to clear the way for an inquiry, the Post reported. He was arrested on October 17 on state charges of illegally exercising public office. A judge ruled Thursday that the state case can go to trial, the Post said. The judge dropped a second state charge, Mexico's La Razón reported. Jáuregui denied the accusations by video link from prison, saying, "There is no evidence of unlawful conduct on my part," La Razón said (translated from Spanish).
Federal officials later added the treason charge, the Post reported. A federal judge will decide Saturday whether to allow the indictment, the Post and La Razón reported. Jáuregui is being held at a maximum-security prison.
Mexico has not successfully brought a treason case to trial in decades, ABC News and the Post reported.
One of his lawyers, Héctor Villasana, said prosecutors want an "exemplary punishment," ABC News reported. He said they argued it would prevent an action like the US removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The State Department said it is aware of the case and watching it, ABC News and the Post reported. It did not link the case to the CIA deaths.
The deaths raised questions about US actions on Mexican soil, the Post reported. Sheinbaum has made a strong defense of national sovereignty a key part of her government, the Post said.
What we know: Jáuregui faces state charges and a possible federal treason indictment over the April operation.
What we don't: Whether the federal judge will allow the treason case on Saturday.
Where outlets agree The AP and La Razón report that César Jáuregui is held in a federal prison on a possible treason charge, with a federal hearing set for Saturday, over an April drug lab raid involving US agents.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.