Mexico Ex-Prosecutor Charged With Treason Over Secret CIA Ties
(MENAFN) A judge ordered former Chihuahua state prosecutor Cesar Jauregui Moreno jailed pending trial in the early hours of Wednesday, after he was charged with treason for allegedly working with the CIA without the Mexican federal government’s knowledge or approval.
The case stems from revelations last April that CIA operatives helped take down a clandestine drug laboratory in Chihuahua, in northwestern Mexico. Because the federal government had never cleared the American intelligence officers to operate on Mexican soil, their role breached the country’s Constitution.
A district judge ordered the pretrial detention at a hearing closed to the public. Prosecutors had argued that airing details of the investigation before the media could endanger national security.
Jauregui Moreno was arrested on Oct. 17. He had stepped down as state prosecutor in April.
The affair has exposed political maneuvering by opponents of the ruling Morena party and the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum. It also highlights the tight relationships between state administrations and US security agencies, at a time when Washington is pressing for a bigger role in Mexico’s security policy.
The Constitution gives the federal government sole power to strike security agreements with foreign governments. The link between the CIA and Chihuahua’s state government surfaced only after a car crash that killed two US agents.
The state prosecutor’s office has since disclosed that those agents had worked with state authorities on security operations twice before the fatal accident.
The case stems from revelations last April that CIA operatives helped take down a clandestine drug laboratory in Chihuahua, in northwestern Mexico. Because the federal government had never cleared the American intelligence officers to operate on Mexican soil, their role breached the country’s Constitution.
A district judge ordered the pretrial detention at a hearing closed to the public. Prosecutors had argued that airing details of the investigation before the media could endanger national security.
Jauregui Moreno was arrested on Oct. 17. He had stepped down as state prosecutor in April.
The affair has exposed political maneuvering by opponents of the ruling Morena party and the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum. It also highlights the tight relationships between state administrations and US security agencies, at a time when Washington is pressing for a bigger role in Mexico’s security policy.
The Constitution gives the federal government sole power to strike security agreements with foreign governments. The link between the CIA and Chihuahua’s state government surfaced only after a car crash that killed two US agents.
The state prosecutor’s office has since disclosed that those agents had worked with state authorities on security operations twice before the fatal accident.
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