CNN, NYT Report CIA Was Behind Car Bomb Assassination of Sinaloa Cartel Officer in March 2026

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

In late-March, a Sinaloa Cartel officer identified as Francisco Beltrán “N” alias "El Payin" was killed when his vehicle exploded just after arriving at Felipe Angeles International Airport just outside Mexico City. Last night, CNN reported that the killing was orchestrated and carried by C.I.A. officers in Mexico, a claim which the United States and Mexican governments rejected. 

Citing anonymous sources, CNN reported that the killing is part of a new campaign against cartel members waged by C.I.A. officers operating in Mexico. The NYT ran a similar story today, claiming the C.I.A. planned the event, but did not execute the explosion.

The story has been denied by both the Mexican and United States' governments. After the story was published, C.I.A. spokesperson Liz Lyons tweeted: "This is false and salacious reporting that serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk". 

The denial has been even more vehement from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum administration, who stated the NYT report was a “fiction the size of the universe”.

The rejection of the story is expected from both the United States and Mexico. The United States has been open about C.I.A. involvement in providing intelligence to Mexican forces, but has of course never acknowledged any involvement on the ground. For President Sheinbaum, avoiding U.S. kinetic action in Mexico at bay is a central objective of her presidency. 

In late April, two U.S. agents reported to be C.I.A, officers were killed along with two Mexican police officers in a car wreck in the northern state of Chihuahua while returning from the seizure of a clandestine drug lab. The revelation was inflammatory in Mexico, particularly to the federal government, who appeared to be blindsided by U.S. involvement on ground missions.

Sources: CNN, CIA Spokesperson, Borderland Beat Archives, Al Jazeera