Jáuregui, Maru Campos's Former Prosecutor, Is Ordered to Stand Trial for Treason Against Mexico
mexicosolidarity.com
After 80 years without a similar case, a judge ordered the trial on more than 150 pieces of evidence presented by the Attorney General's Office.

This article by SinEmbargo Staff originally appeared in the October 25, 2026 edition of SinEmbargo, an independent Mexican digital news outlet.

Mexico City, October 25 (SinEmbargo).— After 80 years without a similar case, the former prosecutor of Chihuahua under the Government of Maru Campos, César Jáuregui Moreno, was ordered to stand trial this Sunday for the crime of Treason, for allegedly having allowed agents of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States (US) into an operation to dismantle a drug lab last April.

The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) reported that it presented more than 150 pieces of evidence to support the charge against the former official, who will remain in pretrial detention at the Altiplano prison, in the State of Mexico (Edomex).

“After providing more than 150 pieces of evidence, the FGR obtained an order to stand trial against César ‘N’, former Attorney General of the state of Chihuahua, for his possible participation in the crime of Treason,” it detailed in the statement.

In issuing the ruling, Ricardo Alfonso Santos Dorantes, control judge of the Federal Criminal Justice Center of Almoloya de Juárez, granted two months for the complementary investigation, during which the Prosecutor’s Office and the defense will have the opportunity to present their evidence.

Post by @FGRMexico on X

After a hearing that began at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and ended at 12:35 a.m. this Sunday, October 25, Jáuregui became the first Mexican in nearly eight decades to be tried for this crime, according to the historical precedents cited in the case.

Why Was Former Prosecutor César Jáuregui Arrested?

The FGR accuses Jáuregui of possible participation in the crime of Treason over the entry of US agents into Mexican territory for an anti-drug trafficking operation in Chihuahua, without them having the corresponding authorizations to enter the country.

According to the investigation, the CIA agents did not have authorization from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) or from the High-Level Security Group to temporarily enter Mexican territory for information-sharing purposes. In addition, they also lacked weapons carry permits issued by the Secretariat of National Defense (Defensa), although there are indications that they were armed.

The events took place on April 18, when personnel from the state Prosecutor’s Office and Army troops, with the participation of CIA agents, located and shut down a synthetic drug lab on a property in the Sierra del Pinal, in the municipality of Morelos, Chihuahua.

Former Chihuahua prosecutor César Jáuregui

The former Chihuahua prosecutor faces two court cases related to the operation. Photo: Facebook César Jáuregui

The presence of the US personnel became public after four people died in a car accident in the early hours of April 19, shortly after the operation ended. Among the victims were Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes, then head of the State Investigation Agency; his bodyguard, Manuel Genaro Méndez Montes, and the CIA agents Richard Leiter Johnston III and John Dudley Black.

Following the discovery, the FGR seized 55,000 liters and more than 50 tons of chemical precursors at the property, in addition to almost two thousand liters of methamphetamine.

The accusation against Jáuregui is based on Article 123, section I, of the Federal Penal Code, a provision that punishes anyone who carries out acts that undermine the independence and sovereignty of Mexico with the purpose of subjecting the Nation to a foreign group.

Jáuregui’s Lawyer Weighs Challenging the Order to Stand Trial

José Ramón Flores, a member of César Jáuregui’s legal team, reported that the defense will challenge the court ruling, as it considers there was not enough evidence to order him to stand trial. It is also analyzing the possibility of resorting to an abbreviated procedure, which would allow an eventual sentence to be reduced.

During the hearing, the Judge recalled that the crime of Treason is punishable by sentences of five to 40 years in prison, so, if he opts for an abbreviated procedure and meets the legal requirements, the sentence could be reduced by up to one third.

This is the second court case Jáuregui faces over the operation in Chihuahua, since last Thursday a state court judge ordered him to stand trial for unlawful exercise of public service.

In addition, the FGR opened a new line of investigation into alleged acts of corruption related to casinos and the use of front men, after the Governor of Chihuahua pointed to possible irregularities before Attorney General Ernestina Godoy Ramos.

The case’s precedent stands out: in 1945, three federal deputies, Carlos Alberto Madrazo Becerra, Sacramento Joffre and Pedro Téllez Vargas, faced a trial for Treason after losing their immunity over alleged irregularities in the administration of the Bracero Program, which allowed the hiring of Mexican workers in the US, but in 1946, after remaining in the Lecumberri Penitentiary, the three legislators were acquitted.

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