Mexico charges prosecutor with treason over US involvement in drug raid

The alleged participation of US agents in an April drug operation has raised questions about whether Mexican law was upheld. Save Share Mexico has taken the rare step of charging a former state prosecutor with treason, alleging that he allowed United States agents to take part in adrug raidon the country’s territory. The case underscores sensitivities about US involvement in Mexico and concerns about the Latin American country’s sovereignty. On Wednesday, former Chihuahua Attorney General Cesar Jauregui was accused of permitting US agents to take part in an antidrug operation in the northwestern border state. Under Mexican law, the federal government must approve the activities of foreign forces on the country’s soil. But questions emerged about whether the law was being adhered to after two US agents and two Mexican law enforcement officials were killed in a car accident on April 19. News outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported that the US agents had been collaborating with state law enforcement in the destruction of a drug lab. Matias Gomez Leautaud, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, a US-based risk consultancy firm, told the news service Reuters that the treason charge “seeks to set a precedent and prevent cooperation between [Mexican] states and the US government without the federal government’s coordination and approval”. While the administration of PresidentClaudia Sheinbaumhas collaborated with the US on issues of crime and insecurity, it has opposed any effort by the US to work directly with Mexican states without federal authorisation first. In the days after the April car crash, Sheinbaum indicated that her government was not aware that US agents had been involved in a drug operation in Chihuahua. “Evidently, the military didn’t know there were people participating who weren’t Mexican citizens,” Sheinbaumtold reportersat the time. She called for an investigation into whether state officials had respected Mexico’s constitution and its National Security Law, which govern the involvement of foreign forces on Mexican territory. The constitution, for example, requires Senate approval for the presence of any foreign troops in Mexico. The country has a long history ofUS intervention, including multiple military invasions continuing into the early 20th century. But concerns about the US respecting Mexican sovereignty have risen since US President Donald Trump returned to office for a second term....