Report Claims Expanded US Covert Action Against Mexican Cartels

(MENAFN) The Central Intelligence Agency has reportedly intensified covert operations in Mexico, including involvement in lethal strikes targeting members of organized criminal groups, as part of a broadened counter-cartel effort, according to reports.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, reports state that the agency’s elite Ground Branch unit has participated in multiple operations, among them a March 28 incident involving a vehicle explosion on a highway outside Mexico City that killed Francisco “El Payin” Beltran, described as a mid-level figure linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, along with his driver.

One source described the shift as a significant escalation, saying that “The lethality of their operations has been seriously ramped up,” and adding that it represents a broader expansion of CIA activity inside Mexican territory.

The reported campaign followed the designation of major Mexican criminal organizations, including the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations by US President Donald Trump.

Mexican officials pushed back on claims of unilateral foreign-led lethal operations. In comments shared on social media, Mexico’s Security Minister Omar Hamid Garcia Harfuch stated that all cooperation with the United States is conducted through official institutional channels and must respect national sovereignty.

He emphasized that operational actions within Mexico are carried out exclusively by domestic authorities, while bilateral cooperation is limited to intelligence sharing and coordinated frameworks under government oversight.

Reports indicate that the CIA declined to comment on the allegations, while Mexican agencies also did not provide responses at the time of publication.

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