Mexican authorities have refuted a CNN news report that the US intelligence agency CIA was behind a security operation that led to the death of a cartel member in an explosion outside Mexico City.
“The Mexican government categorically rejects any claims that attempt to normalize, justify or suggest the presence of lethal, covert or unilateral operations by foreign agencies on Mexican soil,” Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said on X.
The CIA also denies the CNN report. “This is false and sensationalized reporting that is nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and endangers American lives,” spokesperson Liz Lyons wrote on X.
CNN reported earlier on Tuesday that the CIA had been involved in several deadly attacks in Mexico on mid-level cartel members since 2025. The channel zoomed in on the death of Francisco Beltrán, also known as El Payín, who was said to have been a member of the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most notorious drug syndicates.
The level of CIA involvement in the operations varied, according to CNN’s sources: from a more passive role, consisting of sharing intelligence and providing general support, to direct participation in liquidation operations.
