The governments of the United States and Mexico are refuting a series of reports from CNN and the New York Times claiming that CIA agents were carrying out covert assassination operations targeting cartel figures in Mexico.
The issue first came to light this week when CNN reported that the death of Francisco “El Payin” Beltran was a direct result of a CIA-led assassination where Mexican and American forces placed explosive devices inside his vehicle. As Breitbart Texas reported, Beltran died in late March near an airport in Mexico State. Beltran was riding in an SUV when the vehicle exploded.
At the time, local news outlets reported that the case was tied to an ongoing turf war between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, of which Beltran was a mid-level operator.
However, this week, CNN reported that Beltran had been taken out by a CIA bomb. Soon after, the Times followed with a report claiming that the CIA was operating openly in Mexico, targeting mid-level cartel figures. The reports sparked much controversy in Mexico.
The CIA has denied the allegations, and their spokesman posted the story on social media with the quote “This is false and salacious reporting that serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk.”
Mexico’s top security official, Omar Garcia Harfuch, shared the CIA post and followed with one of his own, claiming that Mexico and the U.S. have a stable working relationship that follows the law and that such operations are not taking place on Mexican soil.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.