Two U.S. Embassy staffers and two Mexican law enforcement officials died in an unspecified accident following a drug eradication operation in Mexico, authorities said Sunday.
The four were returning from an operation to destroy drug labs in the municipality of Morelos in the state of Chihuahua when the accident took place, Chihuahua Attorney General César Jáuregui Moreno said at a news conference.
The U.S. staffers, described as instructors who train and collaborate with Mexican law enforcement, were not identified.
In a statement Sunday, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, called the deaths a "tragic loss" and said they are "a solemn reminder of the risks faced by Mexican and U.S. officials dedicated to protecting our communities."
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbuam said at a news conference Monday that she mourns the loss of the victims. She added that she was unaware state authorities in Chihuahua were collaborating with U.S. embassy personnel in Mexico, and said she has requested more information.
"We were not aware that there was any direct collaboration between the state of Chihuahua and U.S. Embassy personnel in Mexico," Sheinbaum said. "So, we are requesting all the information from the government of Chihuahua and also from the U.S. government and reviewing whether there has been any violation of national security law."
The president said that while such collaboration with the United States was "everywhere" in the past, she has limited such operations.
"This is not under our government; it is under a state government — that must be made very clear," Sheinbaum said. "So, we are going to find out exactly what the conditions were for this and we are going to inform the public."
Jáuregui identified the Mexican law enforcement personnel as State Investigation Agency Director Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes and Officer Manuel Genaro Méndez Montes, also of the agency.
"We extend our deepest condolences and our sympathies to the families of those who died in this tragic accident," he said.
Maru Campos, the governor of Chihuahua, praised Oseguera for "working for the peace and security of the people of Chihuahua."
Morelos is about 360 miles southwest of the U.S.-Mexico border at the Good Neighbor Bridge crossing in El Paso, Texas.
