Since last year, CIA operatives inside Mexico have directly participated in deadly attacks on several, mostly mid-level cartel members, the sources said.
“The lethality of their operations has been seriously ramped up,” said one of the people briefed on the operations.
“It’s a significant expansion of the kind of thing the CIA has been willing to do inside Mexico.”.
The level of CIA involvement with operations has varied, according to the sources, from more passive intelligence sharing and providing general support to direct participation in assassination operations.
The exact number of CIA officers operating inside Mexico has fluctuated over the last several months but has typically been a small force, the sources said.
The CIA operations in Mexico are high risk, inviting possible retaliation from cartel members who frequently cross the US-Mexico border, the sources said.
Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico during a press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, on April 22, 2026. »