Liz Lyons, spokesperson for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), on Tuesday characterized a CNN report—which claims the agency participated in a covert operation in Mexico that resulted in the death of a Sinaloa Cartel operative—as “false and sensationalist information.”
“This is false and sensationalist information that serves as nothing more than a public relations campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk,” Lyons wrote on social media, accompanying her post with a screenshot of the CNN article.
The report by the U.S. network asserts that Francisco Beltrán, known as “El Payín,” did not die in an accident, but rather in an assassination “facilitated” by the CIA through an operation carried out in late March in the State of Mexico, near the Felipe Ángeles International Airport.
According to CNN, the vehicle in which Beltrán was traveling exploded, also killing his driver. Preliminary accounts suggested an accidental detonation while an explosive device was being transported; however, the news outlet subsequently claimed that the device had been deliberately planted in the car, citing information attributed to the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office.
The article links the case to the strategy spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s administration against Mexican criminal organizations, noting that the report has intensified the debate regarding potential direct U.S. operations on Mexican soil.
