Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has ordered an investigation into the role played by two US officials in a counter-narcotics operation in the northern state of Chihuahua.
The two died alongside two Mexican officials when their car crashed on their way back from an operation to destroy illegal drug labs, Chihuahua officials said.
Sheinbaum stated that neither she nor senior members of the federal security team had been informed of any joint US-Mexican operations.
The Mexican leader has maintained that foreign officials can operate on Mexican soil only with prior clearance at the federal level.
Sheinbaum has faced pressure from her US counterpart, Donald Trump, to take more action against the drug trade flowing into the United States, but she has reaffirmed that Mexico's sovereignty must be respected.
On Monday, Sheinbaum clarified, we did not have knowledge of any direct work between Chihuahua state and personnel from the US embassy.
She has also indicated the need to understand the circumstances surrounding the operation and to assess its legal implications.
According to a Chihuahua state official, the two US nationals and two members of the Chihuahua State Investigation Agency (AEI) died on Sunday morning when their vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a ravine, where it exploded.
The US ambassador in Mexico, Ronald Johnson, described the deceased Americans as US embassy personnel.
Chihuahua State Attorney-General César Jáuregui explained that the two were instructor officers from the US embassy, engaged in training as part of the general cooperation with US authorities.
He added that the accident occurred while they were returning from an operation that involved dismantling clandestine labs for synthetic drug production.
Further questioned, Jáuregui noted they were involved in basic training work, quite far from the drug lab operation.
Sheinbaum stated her government had sought information from both the US embassy and Chihuahua state authorities to determine if the operation breached Mexican national security law, which prohibits joint operations without federal approval.
She emphasized that while her government works closely with the US, including intelligence sharing, there are no joint operations on land or in the air.
