The White House on Tuesday asked Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum to show “a little empathy” for the two U.S. agents killed during a drug raid in Mexico.
“I think the president (Donald Trump) would agree that a little empathy from Claudia Sheinbaum would go a long way for the two American lives that were lost, considering everything the United States is doing,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News.
Sheinbaum reported on Tuesday that her government sent a diplomatic note to the United States demanding explanations for the participation of U.S. agents in an operation last Sunday against clandestine drug labs in the state of Chihuahua, where two U.S. agents and two Mexicans were killed.
The White House press secretary maintained that Trump is working to “stop the scourge of drug trafficking that passes through Mexico into the United States.”
“We have seen some cooperation from President Sheinbaum. I think the president always wants to see more cooperation, especially when what we are doing benefits not only the American people, but also his people,” Leavitt emphasized.
The controversy grew when The Washington Post reported that the two Americans allegedly belonged to the CIA and had provided intelligence support for a counter-narcotics operation.
Trump has repeatedly suggested the possibility of U.S. intervention within Mexican territory against drug cartels, something the Sheinbaum administration has rejected in defense of the country’s sovereignty.
Sheinbaum stated this Tuesday that Mexican federal authorities were unaware of the participation of foreign agents in field operations.
Furthermore, she emphasized that no state government can establish security collaboration with foreign authorities outside of federal channels.
Initially, the Chihuahua state prosecutor stated that the agents were returning from the operation, but later clarified that the Americans did not directly participate in the seizure of the laboratory used by drug traffickers and that they were carrying out training work.
Source: forbes
