The Central Intelligence Agency has dramatically expanded covert operations inside Mexico, directly executing deadly strikes against drug cartel members in an unprecedented escalation of America’s war on cartels. The operations mark a significant shift from intelligence gathering to lethal action on foreign soil.
Elite Ground Branch Carries Out Highway Attack
The CIA’s elite Ground Branch unit conducted a car bombing on March 28 outside Mexico City that killed Francisco Beltran, a mid-level Sinaloa Cartel operative, and his driver. Multiple sources familiar with the operations told CNN that the lethality of CIA actions has been seriously ramped up. One source briefed on the classified operations described it as a significant expansion of what the agency has been willing to do inside Mexico, representing a fundamental change in American counternarcotics strategy south of the border.
Trump Designation Triggers Operational Shift
The expanded lethal campaign followed President Donald Trump’s designation of major Mexican cartels, including Sinaloa and Jalisco, as foreign terrorist organizations. This classification legally enables the CIA to conduct operations similar to those against terrorist groups in the Middle East. The designation fundamentally changed how American intelligence agencies can engage cartels, providing legal authority for direct action rather than simply providing intelligence to Mexican partners. The shift represents the most aggressive American posture toward Mexican criminal organizations in modern history.
Mexico Rejects Claims of Unilateral Operations
Mexican Security Minister Omar Hamid Garcia Harfuch firmly rejected claims of unilateral lethal operations by foreign agencies on Mexican soil. He stated that all cooperation with the United States is conducted through institutional channels and respects national sovereignty. Garcia Harfuch emphasized that operational actions in Mexico are carried out exclusively by Mexican authorities, while bilateral cooperation focuses on intelligence sharing, coordination and formal mechanisms under government oversight. The CIA declined to comment on the operations, and Mexican agencies did not respond to requests for additional information.
Sovereignty Concerns and Strategic Implications
The reported operations raise significant questions about American intelligence activities on foreign soil and the limits of counternarcotics cooperation. Mexican officials have historically been sensitive to American military or intelligence operations conducted without explicit Mexican government approval. The cartel violence has claimed tens of thousands of lives annually in Mexico, with criminal organizations increasingly resembling insurgent forces controlling territory. The CIA’s shift toward lethal operations represents a calculated bet that eliminating cartel leadership will disrupt criminal networks, though similar strategies in other conflicts have produced mixed results.