MEXICO CITY – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that the United States had pledged to respect Mexican law after it emerged that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents operated in the country without federal authorization.

At a press conference, Sheinbaum said Washington was responding to a diplomatic note seeking details about an April 19 incident in which two CIA agents were killed in an accident following an anti-drug operation that exposed their activities.

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She said the US response included a clear commitment to comply with Mexico's legal framework. "They are providing the information, and they have stated their intention to respect the law and the Constitution in Mexico," she said.

The disclosure that US intelligence agents took part in an operation in the northern state of Chihuahua to dismantle a clandestine drug lab without federal authorization has sparked diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

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Sheinbaum said the Attorney General's Office is investigating the incident and must take over where there is a presumption of a crime.

She added she hoped the CIA's involvement was an isolated case and not a precedent for future bilateral security cooperation.

"Mexico must be respected," she said.