The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency on Tuesday denied that it was involved in the murder of a Sinaloa Cartel operative last March, as alleged in a CNN report. The media network claims that Francisco Beltrán, known as “El Payín,” did not die in an accident but was murdered, and that his death was “facilitated” by the CIA during a covert operation carried out in the State of Mexico, on the outskirts of Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), near the capital. The alleged assassination occurred in late March, when the car in which the cartel member was traveling exploded, also killing his driver.
Preliminary reports suggested they were transporting an explosive device that was accidentally triggered. CNN asserts that the device was intentionally planted in the vehicle, citing the State of Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office. CNN’s revelation fuels controversy at a time when Mexico is demanding that the Trump administration continue its war against the cartels through cooperation, not through direct incursions on the ground, which could be considered violations of national sovereignty. CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons called the report “false and salacious” and asserted that it “serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk.”
“Mexican authorities have maintained extreme secrecy around the explosion, but multiple sources tell CNN that the attack was a targeted assassination, facilitated by CIA operations officers,” the U.S. news outlet reports. These officers are responsible for recruiting and managing foreign sources to gather national security intelligence. The operation against El Payín was not the only one in which CIA agents were directly involved, according to CNN. “The Beltran operation was part of an expanded, and previously unreported, CIA campaign inside Mexico — spearheaded by the agency’s elite and secretive Ground Branch — to dismantle the entrenched cartel networks,” the outlet reports. Without the express authorization of the Mexican federal government, the direct participation of foreign agents in security operations is prohibited by the Constitution.
Last week, Trump himself threatened to launch ground offensives against the cartels in Mexico, after praising attacks targeting vessels that Washington accuses — without evidence — of drug trafficking. “If they’re not going to do the job, we will,” the president said. During a hearing on Tuesday in the House of Representatives, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called on Mexico to take action against the cartels so that his country “doesn’t have to do it.” Although Trump and Hegseth have discussed the issue in terms of a possibility, CNN reports that the CIA’s “deadly attacks” in Mexico have been occurring for at least a year, mostly targeting mid-level cartel members, such as El Payín. The network cites unnamed Mexican officials who claim that “the lethality of their operations has been seriously ramped up.”
Mexico’s Secretary of Security Omar García Harfuch has also rejected the CNN investigation, asserting that cooperation with the United States takes the form of intelligence sharing and institutional coordination. “The Mexican government categorically rejects any account that seeks to normalize, justify, or suggest the existence of lethal, covert, or unilateral operations by foreign agencies on national territory,” he stated via X. “In Mexico, operational actions are the exclusive responsibility of the competent Mexican authorities,” he added. García Harfuch emphasized that “cooperation without subordination” between the two nations has enabled the capture of key targets, the seizure of drugs and weapons, and the destruction of clandestine laboratories. Meanwhile, the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office has denied having confirmed to CNN that an explosive device had been hidden in El Payín’s vehicle. “The Attorney General’s Office is conducting an investigation […] and has not yet reached a conclusion regarding the causes and circumstances that led to his death,” it stated.
The level of involvement by U.S. security agencies without authorization from the Mexican federal government has strained bilateral relations. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is convinced that the Trump administration’s actions should be viewed as foreign interference and a violation of national sovereignty, according to sources with access to the National Palace. For the president, they add, rather than a campaign against the cartels, this is a political maneuver ahead of the upcoming midterm elections in the United States. It is in this context that Washington’s explosive accusation against the governor of Sinaloa (currently on leave), Rubén Rocha, of allegedly collaborating with the Sinaloa Cartel, takes place. On Tuesday, Terrance Cole, the head of the DEA, warned that the accusation against Rocha is “just the beginning of what is to come in Mexico,” alluding to other officials and politicians allegedly linked to drug trafficking.
U.S. involvement in Mexico came to light following the deaths in a car accident of two CIA officers who had participated in the dismantling of a drug lab in Chihuahua. “The level of CIA involvement with operations has varied, according to the sources, from more passive intelligence sharing and providing general support to direct participation in assassination operations,” CNN reports. The network explains that the operation against El Payín, a mid-level cartel operative, is part of a strategy “to dismantle entire cartel networks, which involves not only removing those at the very top but also identifying vulnerabilities throughout the organization and systematically targeting lower-tier players who serve as key cogs in the trafficking enterprise.”
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