4 folks, together with two American embassy staff, had been killed in a automotive accident following a significant drug raid in northern Mexico, prosecutors stated Sunday.
On Friday and Saturday, six clandestine artificial drug labs had been raided in Morelos, within the northern state of Chihuahua, after a three-month investigation, state prosecutor César Jáuregui informed reporters.
Jáuregui initially stated the accident occurred whereas the officers had been coming back from the drug raids, however after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated she was unaware of any U.S. participation within the operations, the prosecutor later stated the Individuals weren’t concerned in these operations.
“It was not an operation that the safety cupboard was conscious of,” Sheinbaum informed journalists on Monday, in keeping with The Related Press. “We weren’t knowledgeable; it was a call by the Chihuahua authorities.”
Sheinbaum stated she would demand an evidence and famous any such collaboration would must be accepted by the federal authorities, “as established by the Structure,” the AP reported.
Jáuregui then clarified later Monday, “That operation concerned the participation solely of brokers from the State Investigation Company and the Mexican navy.”
Jáuregui stated the Individuals had been “primarily engaged in coaching actions, positioned some eight to 9 hours away from the location the place the operation was going down.” He stated they met with the director of the State Investigation Company later, when he was on his manner again from the raid.
“They weren’t coming from the operation. That’s the reason, clearly, the president acknowledged that we weren’t apprised of their participation,” Jáuregui stated. “It was merely taken without any consideration that that they had participated within the operation itself. I used to be notified of this at 2:00 within the morning. The data I had to supply was merely the data I possessed on the time.”
The victims’ automobile, which was main an official convoy of 5 vehicles, skidded off the street and plunged right into a ravine, Jáuregui stated over the weekend.
The Individuals killed had been “teacher officers” who specialise in coaching on drones and different techniques, Jáuregui stated.
Jáuregui known as the labs “one of many largest websites discovered within the nation the place chemical medicine had been produced.”
In a information launch, the state legal professional basic’s workplace recognized two of the crash victims as first commander of the state investigation company Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes and officer Manuel Genaro Méndez Montes.
Chihuahua State Investigation Company 
“We prolong our deepest condolences and our sympathies to the households of those that died on this tragic accident,” the workplace stated in an announcement.
The identities of the 2 U.S. Embassy officers killed within the crash weren’t launched. U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson paid tribute to the victims in an X publish.
“We honor their dedication and tireless efforts to confront one of many best challenges of our time,” Johnson stated.
“This tragedy is a solemn reminder of the dangers confronted by these Mexican and U.S. officers who’re devoted to defending our communities,” he stated, including it “strengthens our resolve to proceed their mission.”
Mexico has introduced the dismantling of quite a few drug labs in latest months after President Trump threatened potential army motion to curb cartels within the nation.
In February, Mexican naval personnel found a hidden drug laboratory within the nation’s Durango area and “neutralized” over 5,000 kilos of methamphetamine. In January, authorities introduced greater than 1,500 kilos of meth had been seized from clandestine laboratories within the states of Durango, Sinaloa and Michoacán.
