Mexico, CIA reject report of US assassination campaign against cartels

Rebuttals come after US media report alleges that the CIA has ‘directly participated’ in deadly anti-cartel operations.Mexico’s government and the CIA have rebutted a report claiming that US intelligence agents have participated in the targeted assassinations of alleged drug cartel members in the Latin American country.The denials on Tuesday came after CNN reported that the CIA has been deeply involved in deadly operations aimed at dismantling Mexico’s drug cartels.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Honduras mayor arrested for masterminding environmentalist’s killinglist 2 of 4Sam Altman says Elon Musk wanted 90 percent of OpenAI in high-stakes triallist 3 of 4Chinese firm unveils ‘transformer’ style manned robotlist 4 of 4Starmer at risk because he pushed Labour to be ‘new Conservative Party’end of listCIA operatives have “directly participated” in several attacks on drug trafficking syndicates since last year, including a car explosion in March that killed Francisco Beltran, an alleged member of the Sinaloa Cartel, CNN reported, citing multiple unnamed sources.The operations have mostly targeted mid-level cartel members, with the CIA’s involvement ranging from “passive intelligence sharing” to “direct participation in assassination operations”, CNN reported.In a social media post, CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons said the CNN report was “false and salacious” and “serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk”.Mexico’s Secretary of Security Omar Garcia Harfuch also challenged the report, saying the government “categorically rejects any version that seeks to normalise, justify, or suggest the existence of lethal, covert, or unilateral operations by foreign agencies on national territory”.“Cooperation with the United States exists, is important, and has yielded relevant results for both countries,” Harfuch said in a post on X.“However, it is carried out under clear principles: respect for sovereignty, shared responsibility, mutual trust, and cooperation without subordination.”