Morena Senator Óscar Cantón Zetina on Tuesday accused Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos of treason due to her government’s alleged approval of the participation of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) personnel in a drug lab raid in the northern state earlier this month.
Other senators with the ruling party also took aim at Campos, with one dubbing the governor “Lady CIA.”
The alleged participation of four CIA officers in the Chihuahua operation without the knowledge or authorization of the federal government allegedly violated Mexico’s Constitution and National Security Law. Two of the CIA agents, and two security officials from Chihuahua, were killed in a car accident early on April 19. The CIA agents reportedly wore Chihuahua State Investigation Agency uniforms while working alongside state and federal security forces in the raid on the lab allegedly operated by the Sinaloa Cartel.
Speaking in the Senate, Cantón said that the alleged approval of the participation of CIA officers in the methamphetamine lab raid on the weekend of April 18 and 19 “could constitute the crime of treason as defined in article 123 of the federal criminal code.”
“It’s up to the Senate of the Republic … to establish with clarity that any conduct of local authorities that compromises sovereignty, encroaches on federal powers or places national security at risk must be exhaustively investigated, and, where appropriate, lead to political, administrative or criminal accountability,” he said.
Asked in an interview whether Campos had really committed treason, Cantón, president of the Senate’s Constitutional Points Committee, responded:
“Yes, yes, totally. This is the case because the Constitution explicitly states that anyone who deals with foreign agents or serves the interests of other countries is guilty of treason. That is why we in the Senate are carefully considering how we should respond to these attitudes, actions, deeds … by Chihuahua Governor María Eugenia [Maru] Campos.”
The Senate summoned Campos to appear before the Constitutional Points and Public Security Committees on Tuesday, but the governor declined to do so. In a letter to the Senate, Campos said she has always conducted herself in accordance with “the principles of legality and transparency,” and highlighted that she ordered the creation of a “Specialized Unit for the Investigation of the Events related to the Dismantling of the ‘El Pinal’ Drug Laboratory, in the municipality of Morelos, Chihuahua.”
She said that the specialized unit “has already sent information” to the Federal Attorney General’s Office, which is conducting its own investigation into the alleged participation of CIA agents in the drug lab operation.
“Due to all of the above, in order to safeguard the appropriate development of the ongoing investigations, … I inform you that at this time it is not possible to attend to the invitation [to appear in the Senate] in the terms set out,” Campos said.
César Jáuregui resigned as Chihuahua attorney general on Monday amid the ongoing fallout related to the alleged CIA involvement in Chihuahua.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has assigned most of the blame for the apparently secret, allegedly illegal security collaboration between Chihuahua and the United States to the Chihuahua government. She said on Tuesday that the U.S. government had committed to respecting its security agreements with Mexico and Mexican law after her administration sent a protest note to U.S. Ambassador Ron Johnson.
Other Morena lawmakers rebuke Campos
Senator Lucía Trasviña, president of the Public Security Committee, said Tuesday that the participation of U.S. personnel in the drug lab operation in Chihuahua amounted to a violation of national sovereignty. She accused Campos of disrespect for Mexico’s laws and said that her failure to appear in the Senate impeded accountability.
Senator Martha Lucía Mícher referred to the governor as “Lady CIA.” The terms “lady” and “lord” are used mockingly in Mexico to call out people — particularly the privileged — caught on video behaving arrogantly or abusively in public.
“We’re here to talk about Lady CIA,” Mícher said in an address to the Senate.
“About the lady who, in addition to not coming [to the Senate], … gives herself the luxury of violating Article 40 and other articles of the Constitution,” she said.
Article 40 of the Mexican Constitution states that “the people of Mexico, under no circumstance, will accept interventions, interference or any other act from abroad.”
PAN senators defend the Chihuahua governor
While Morena senators verbally attacked Campos, National Action Party (PAN) senators defended the governor, who also represents the PAN.
Senator Mario Humberto Vázquez Robles defended Campos’ decision not to appear in the Senate, asserting that Tuesday’s session “lacked conditions of institutional balance.”
He accused Morena of politicizing the issue of the alleged CIA involvement in the operation in Chihuahua, despite the operation resulting in the dismantlement of a large clandestine drug lab.
Senator Lily Téllez — an advocate for U.S. participation in the fight against cartels in Mexico — asserted that Morena wanted to “lynch” Campos.
She celebrated that the governor “didn’t fall into the trap” by coming to the Senate.
“Something applies perfectly well here — ‘Don’t cast your pearls before swine,’” Téllez said, using a biblical phrase.
“I congratulate Maru Campos for not coming to give pearls [of wisdom] to the benches of the mafiosos,” she said, referring to Morena senators.
With reports from El Financiero, Sin Embargo and MVS Noticias
