Mexico Revives Rare Treason Charge Against Former Chihuahua Prosecutor Jáuregui over US Role in Drug Raid: Judge Orders Pretrial Detention
MEXICO CITY — Mexican federal prosecutors on Wednesday, October 21, charged a former state prosecutor with treason, reviving one of the most serious and rarely used crimes in Mexico's legal system, Reuters reported. Federal authorities allege that former Chihuahua state prosecutor César Jáuregui allowed US personnel to participate in an April operation against a suspected drug laboratory in the northern border state without the authorisation required under Mexican law. Jáuregui, who served as Chihuahua attorney general from 2023 to 2026 and is a member of the opposition PAN party, was arrested over the weekend; a judge must still determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed with the case.
Attorney General Ernestina Godoy alleged that Jáuregui improperly allowed foreign agents to carry out functions reserved exclusively for Mexico's federal government and withheld information he was required to share. A judge ordered Jáuregui held in pretrial detention, with a follow-up hearing scheduled for Saturday, according to a statement from the Attorney General's Office.
The raid only came to light after two of the US agents were killed in a car crash returning from the scene, drawing scrutiny from President Claudia Sheinbaum and pitting her against opposition Governor Maru Campos, Reuters reported. Analysts said the case could have consequences beyond Chihuahua, as the federal government moves to tighten control over security cooperation with the United States. "The treason charge… seeks to set a precedent and prevent cooperation between (Mexican) states and the US government without the federal government's coordination and approval," said Matías Gómez Leautaud, an analyst at Eurasia Group.
Treason prosecutions are exceedingly rare in Mexico: the country has not recorded a widely recognised conviction for the crime since 1867, when Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg was condemned and executed after the government of Benito Juárez concluded that his French-backed empire violated the country's independence and sovereignty. Mexican law does not provide a single definition of treason, but broadly defines it as acts against the country's independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity carried out for the benefit of a foreign government, state or group.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：墨西哥奇瓦瓦市中心（资料图）。Miggbaylon 摄，CC BY 4.0，取自维基共享资源。Photo: Downtown Chihuahua City, Mexico (file photo). By Miggbaylon, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-10-21Mexico Revives Rare Treason Charge Against Former Chihuahua Prosecutor Jáuregui over US Role in Drug Raid: Judge Orders Pretrial DetentionThis story
