Mexico to investigate possible breach of its constitution and assess US’s role in anti-drug operation near Chihuahua

Mexico has launched an investigation into a possible breach of its constitution as it was reported that two US embassy officials who died in a car accident while returning from a raid on a drug lab with local officials in the border state of Chihuahua were CIA operatives.

The accident happened early on Sunday, as the officials were driving back from the scene of the raid. Their vehicle skidded off the road and plunged down a 200 metre ravine in the mountains near Chihuahua’s border with the state of Sinaloa.

Since then, state officials have provided seemingly conflicting accounts of whether and how the Americans were involved in the raid, while Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, said neither she nor her cabinet had been aware of the operation. Mexico’s national security law does not allow for joint operations without prior approval from the federal government.