Federal Judge to Rule on Treason Indictment for Ex-Chihuahua Chief

A federal judge will determine this Saturday whether to allow a treason indictment against César Jáuregui, the former attorney general of Chihuahua. The charge stems from a joint law enforcement operation in April that ended in the deaths of two U.S. agents and two Mexican officials.

Prosecutors allege that Jáuregui endangered national security by approving the participation of American agents in a field operation. Under Mexican law, the decision to involve foreign personnel in such missions is reserved exclusively for the federal government. If convicted, Jáuregui faces a prison sentence of five to 40 years.

The incident occurred on April 19 during a raid on a drug laboratory in the municipality of Morelos. The Chihuahua Attorney General's Office announced the dismantling of the site, which Jáuregui described as one of the largest chemical drug production sites in the country. On the return trip, a vehicle in the convoy left the road and crashed into a ravine.

The crash killed Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes, the first commander of the state investigation agency, and officer Manuel Genaro Méndez Montes. The two American victims were identified by U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson as embassy personnel. However, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that the men were Central Intelligence Agency agents. The CIA declined to comment on their status.

At the time of the crash, Jáuregui stated that the Americans were instructor officers engaged in training tasks under binational anti-drug cooperation. He noted that the operation concluded without arrests because the suspects fled. Following the deaths, Jáuregui resigned to facilitate an inquiry. He was arrested on October 17 on state charges of illegal exercise of public office, which a judge has also cleared for trial.

Defense attorney Héctor Villasana stated that federal prosecutors told a closed hearing they sought an exemplary punishment. Villasana said the prosecutors wanted to prevent a situation similar to the U.S. removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. State Department confirmed it is monitoring the case but did not link it directly to the deaths of the two agents.

Legal experts question the viability of the treason charge. Samuel González, a former chief prosecutor for organized crime, argued that while Jáuregui may have failed in his obligations by not informing federal authorities, the act does not meet the definition of treason, which he described as a wartime crime.

Carlos Pérez Ricart, a professor at the CIDE university, characterized the prosecution as a political decision made ahead of the 2027 midterm elections. He warned that the case sends a negative signal to Washington. The U.S. security ministry stated that one American entered Mexico as a visitor and the other with a diplomatic passport, and that neither had formal accreditation for operational activities.

Two other U.S. agents who traveled in a separate vehicle were subsequently expelled. President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that none of the agents had permission to operate in Mexico. Sheinbaum recently amended the Constitution to bar foreign field operations without express Mexican authorization, a move intended to tighten oversight of foreign involvement in domestic law enforcement.