Mexico charges former state prosecutor with treason over US role in drug raid

Mexico has charged a former state attorney general with treason, accusing him of allowing United States agents to join an anti-drug operation on Mexican territory without proper authorisation.

The charge against Cesar Jauregui, who previously served as Attorney General of the northwestern border state of Chihuahua, was announced on Wednesday. Prosecutors allege he permitted US agents to take part in an anti-narcotics operation in the state.

Under Mexican law, any activity by foreign forces within the country requires approval from the federal government. Questions about compliance with this rule arose after two US agents and two Mexican law enforcement officers died in a car accident on April 19.

Citing anonymous sources, news outlets reported that the US agents had been working alongside state law enforcement to destroy a drug laboratory at the time.

An analyst from the US-based risk consultancy Eurasia Group, Matias Gomez Leautaud, told Reuters that the treason case appears intended to set a precedent discouraging Mexican states from cooperating with US authorities without coordination and approval from the federal government.

The government of President Claudia Sheinbaum has continued to work with the US on security and crime issues, but has pushed back against any attempt by Washington to engage directly with individual Mexican states without first securing federal authorisation.