A Mexican federal judge early Sunday ordered César Jáuregui to face a treason trial, Infobae, Excélsior, and Reforma reported. The step lets the case keep going. It is not a guilty verdict.

The judge is Ricardo Alfonso Santos Dorantes. He ruled after a closed hearing that ended just after midnight Sunday near Altiplano prison, Infobae and Reforma reported. He kept Jáuregui in jail there. He also set two months for more inquiry, Reforma reported.

Federal prosecutors say Jáuregui let CIA agents join an April drug-lab raid in El Pinal, Chihuahua, without national approval, Infobae and Excélsior reported. Four people later died when a convoy vehicle crashed into a ravine. Two of the dead were Americans named as CIA agents, the outlets said.

The national prosecutor's office offered about 150 pieces of evidence, Infobae and Excélsior reported. Reforma put the count at 149. Defense lawyer Héctor Villasana has said none of those items show Jáuregui approved or even knew about the foreign agents' role, Infobae reported (translated from Spanish). Excélsior said the defense argued that none of the material proves he is to blame. Either side can still fight the order as the case moves on.

Reforma said Jáuregui is the first person in 80 years to face a treason case in Mexico. The last such case, it said, dates to 1945 and ended in acquittals the next year.

Jáuregui was arrested on October 17. He already faces a separate state case over misuse of public office from the same raid, Infobae and Excélsior reported. Sunday's federal order answers the open question from the earlier NewsHabit card, which only said a judge would decide whether the treason case could move ahead.

What we know: A federal judge ordered Jáuregui to face a treason trial, kept him at Altiplano, and set two months for more inquiry.
What we don't: Whether a challenge will undo the order, and what the next two months of inquiry will add.