MEXICO SAYS TWO US FEDERAL AGENTS KILLED IN CRASH WERE NOT AUTHORIZED FOR OPERATIONS INSIDE COUNTRY. (PHOTO).

 Mexico says two US federal agents killed in crash were not authorized for operations inside country

 Mexico’s government says two U.S. federal agents killed in a northern border-region crash were not authorized to take part in any operations on Mexican soil, raising new questions about their role in a cross-border drug lab mission. Authorities say the agents were returning from an operation targeting a clandestine drug facility in Chihuahua when their vehicle, traveling as part of a convoy, went off a ravine and exploded last weekend. Two Mexican officers also died in the incident.

U.S. officials have confirmed the two Americans were CIA personnel, though their agency has declined to comment on the circumstances. Mexican officials say one of the agents entered the country as a visitor while the other used a diplomatic passport, and insist the government had no knowledge of foreign operatives conducting or planning any enforcement activity inside Mexico. The Security Ministry emphasized that Mexican law prohibits foreign agents from participating in domestic operations and said the case is being reviewed with local authorities and the U.S. Embassy.

The incident has prompted conflicting accounts between the two countries over what role, if any, U.S. personnel were playing in the operation. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has acknowledged federal forces were involved, even as earlier statements from her government denied awareness of any joint activity or U.S. presence in the mission.