State warrant suspended; federal charges undisclosed
Speaking at the president's news conference, García Harfuch said both the federal Attorney General's Office (FGR) and Chihuahua prosecutors had obtained judicial orders against Zuany, formerly the state's specialized prosecutor for Strategic Operations and Kidnapping. He did not identify the offenses underlying the federal warrant, directing questions about the cases to the respective prosecutors' offices.
The state warrant dates to October 16, 2026, and was issued in criminal case 3055/2026. It concerns allegations of unlawful exercise of public service, collusion and aggravated false statements to authorities.
Zuany challenged the warrant through an indirect constitutional injunction, known as an amparo, filed on October 19. According to the Chihuahua prosecutor's office, as reported by El Debate, the Eleventh District Court in Chihuahua granted a provisional suspension with a 3,000-peso bond. The order temporarily bars his detention under the state warrant, as well as migration alerts and Interpol red notices.
A hearing on whether to maintain the suspension is scheduled for November 13, 2026. García Harfuch did not say whether any court order also restricts execution of the federal warrant.
Fatal crash brought the operation to light
The investigation followed an April 17-19 operation in El Pinal, a community in the municipality of Morelos in the Sierra Tarahumara. The mission sought to find and dismantle clandestine synthetic-drug laboratories. EL PAÍS and Infobae reported that the targets were two camps containing six laboratories, where about two tons of methamphetamine were found. Then-state Attorney General César Jáuregui described the site as one of the largest of its kind ever discovered in Mexico.
During the convoy's return toward the state capital, a pickup fell into a ravine roughly 90 meters deep, killing four people. The two Americans were subsequently identified as CIA officers Richard Leiter Johnston III, 35, and John Dudley Black, 43. Also killed were Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes, then director of the Chihuahua State Investigative Agency, and his escort, Manuel Genaro Méndez Montes, according to EL PAÍS and Infobae.
An investigative file reviewed by EL PAÍS places four CIA agents at the El Pinal operation. The two who survived helped recover the bodies.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said federal authorities had not been told about the activities. She maintained that cooperation with the United States must respect Mexican law and national sovereignty.
Allegations extend beyond El Pinal
A journalistic investigation drawing on hundreds of pages of records and interviews with Mexican and US officials describes an arrangement that allegedly began in 2025 and continued for more than six months. It says Zuany helped connect CIA personnel with Chihuahua police for officer training, intelligence sharing and missions against criminal groups.
The report alleges that some US agents deployed with weapons and tactical gear, relied on real-time intelligence, and helped support and direct operations. It also describes CIA personnel accompanying Mexican police on searches and other actions against suspected members of criminal organizations.
Officials cited in the investigation said the CIA sought to create a special forces unit in Chihuahua. According to their account, the project started with a CIA officer participating in State Police training before expanding into operational missions.
Testimony presented by Chihuahua prosecutors provides a more specific timeline. As reported by La Jornada, US personnel had been working in the state since at least October 2025 and joined a police deployment in Nonoava and San Francisco de Borja on March 19, 2026. The testimony also says Zuany's office supplied them with long firearms before the El Pinal mission.
Zuany's departure and Jáuregui's detention
Zuany became specialized prosecutor for strategic operations on September 5, 2025, according to EL PAÍS. About 90 days into his tenure, the United States revoked his visa, prompting Governor María Eugenia Campos to remove him. He regained the visa two months later and returned to the post.
His resignation was announced on May 13, 2026, about two weeks after Jáuregui resigned as state attorney general on April 27, according to the investigative file reviewed by EL PAÍS. Zuany's whereabouts have been unknown since his departure. EL PAÍS noted that local media reports have placed him in the United States.
Jáuregui was arrested on the morning of October 17, 2026. According to the FGR and Infobae, a federal judge subsequently ordered him to stand trial over his alleged involvement in treason against the nation to the detriment of national security. The judge allowed two months for a supplementary investigation. Jáuregui remains in pretrial detention at the maximum-security Altiplano prison.
Limits on security cooperation
The case has drawn scrutiny to how Mexico and the United States authorize, supervise and coordinate joint security work. Mexico's government supports intelligence sharing and cooperation against drug trafficking but maintains that US forces cannot conduct direct operations in Mexico outside the authority of Mexican institutions.
In an audio recording he posted of his federal hearing, Jáuregui said the US Embassy had answered a Mexican government request for information about El Pinal. According to Infobae's account of the recording, he said the response had been classified as confidential and its contents would not be released publicly.
