Two U.S. officials, a top Mexican state law enforcement official, and his bodyguard died over the weekend in a highway crash in Mexico.
On Sunday evening, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson took to social media to announce the passing of two U.S. officials, the director of the Chihuahua State Investigations Agency and one agent of the AEI. In his statement, Johnson expressed his condolences and mentioned the risks associated with the work they had been doing.
While the diplomat did not provide details about the fatal crash, information provided to Breitbart Texas by the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office revealed that the individuals were traveling in a police convoy on their way back from visiting the scene of a raid at a clandestine lab in rural Chihuahua.
According to the Mexican officials, Pedro Ramon Oseguera Cervantes, the director of the AEI, and one of his bodyguards were traveling in a convoy on their way back from the raid when their vehicle lost control and went off a cliff. Mexican officials would not provide information on the two U.S. officials who had been accompanying their Mexican counterparts. Authorities also did not reveal if only one vehicle went off the cliff or if more than one did. Officials confirmed that several individuals sustained various levels of injuries.
Late last week, Mexican authorities had been carrying out a series of raids in the mountain regions in Chihuahua, where they had found at least two separate labs used by cartel members to manufacture methamphetamine. Law enforcement found the labs using drones, and according to Mexican authorities, they were among the largest ever discovered. Despite being in a remote mountain area in the municipality of Morelos, Chihuahua, the facilities were hundreds of square yards each and were able to produce tons of crystal meth. The labs had been covered with tarps, and cartel members used the surrounding brush to provide cover from authorities.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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