The Mexican military is not aware that any CIA agents have died in an accident following a raid on a drug complex, the president said

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters on Wednesday that the Mexican military was unaware of the presence of American agents. died in a car accident during an anti-narcotics operation on the border of Chihuahua.

“It is clear that the military did not know that there were people participating who were not citizens of Mexico … that there were immigrants participating in this operation,” Sheinbaum told reporters. “This is something Mexicans should not take lightly.”

The two Americans who died in the crash were employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, multiple people familiar with the matter told CBS News. The CIA declined to comment.

Sheinbaum said the federal government is like that we are still investigating a possible violation of national security laws in an incident that is still under investigation.

Mexican authorities said the Americans died along with two Mexican officials and were involved in a raid on a drug operation in a remote part of the northern state.

In a press release, the attorney general’s office identified the two Mexican victims as the first head of the government’s investigative agency Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes and officer Manuel Genaro Méndez Montes.

The five-car convoy included troopers and members of the Chihuahua State Investigation Agency, authorities said.

The US ambassadors were killed by “police officers” who were “conducting a training exercise” as part of the cooperation between the fight against drugs, state prosecutor Cesar Jauregui told the press. Jauregui called the targeted labs “one of the largest facilities in the country where chemical drugs are produced.”

American Ambassador Ronald Johnson expressed his sadness on social media, but he and other officials gave few details about the incident.

“We honor their dedication and tireless efforts to address one of the greatest challenges of our time,” Johnson said. “This tragedy is a stark reminder of the risks those Mexican and American officials have taken to protect our communities.

Open cooperation between US law enforcement and Mexican security forces is historically rare and a politically sensitive topic in the country. Sheinbaum has publicly dismissed the practice.

Home to the important border city of Juarez, Chihuahua is one of four of the 31 states governed by the National Political Action Party (PAN), which opposes Morena’s left-leaning Sheinbaum party.

The leader said he planned to meet with the governor of the state of Chihuahua to discuss the incident.

Sheinbaum has resisted threats by the Trump administration to use airstrikes or ground troops against Mexican cartels, instead advocating for intelligence sharing with the US while local security forces attack organized crime groups.

Elite Mexican soldiers working with American intelligence have killed the drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera in February, releasing a a wave of violence which left more than 70 dead.

Mexico has announced the dismantling of dozens of drug labs in recent months after Mr. Trump has threatened that the military may take action to stop drug trafficking.

In February, Mexican naval personnel found a hidden drug laboratory in the Durango region of the country and “neutralized” it. 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine. In January, the authorities announced more than 1,500 pounds meth was seized from secret laboratories in the states of Durango, Sinaloa and Michoacán.