Reported US CIA agents killed in crash not authorised to operate: Mexico

Mexican government says it is seeking details after incident raises questions about US activities on its territory.The Mexican government has said two federal agents from the United States killed in a car crash in connection with an anti-narcotics raid – widely reported to be CIA officers – were not authorised to operate on Mexican territory.Mexico’s security cabinet said in a statement on Saturday that one of the US citizens had entered the country as a visitor and the other on a diplomatic passport.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Two CIA agents reportedly killed in car crash in Mexican state of Chihuahualist 2 of 3Decapitating cartels? Mexico leans into ‘kingpin strategy’ but at a costlist 3 of 3Mexico arrests suspected Hungarian drug trafficker amid crime crackdownend of listUS authorities have not confirmed a slate of reports that the individuals were agents with the CIA, Washington’s top international intelligence agency, in Mexico as part of a wider operation against drug trafficking.“Neither had formal accreditation to participate in operational activities within national territory,” the statement said, stressing the need for “absolute respect” for Mexican sovereignty in the realm of international cooperation.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has had to balance US demands for more aggressive steps against drug trafficking with a firm insistence on national sovereignty, said earlier this week that her government would probe whether the country’s national security law had been violated.Under the law, foreign agents must receive federal authorisation to operate in the country and cannot work directly with local officials without approval.“Evidently, the military didn’t know there were people participating who weren’t Mexican citizens … that there were foreigners participating in the operation,” Sheinbaum told reporters earlier this week.“This is something that Mexicans shouldn’t take lightly.”Questions have swirled about the death of the two US agents, in what authorities have said was a car crash in the northern state of Chihuahua, last Sunday, in connection with a drug raid.