Jáuregui’s Defense Demands That Mexico’s Attorney General Summon Governor Maru Campos to Say What She Knows About the CIA

BySugeyry Romina Gándara

This article by Sugeyry Romina Gándara originally appeared in the October 21, 2026 edition of SinEmbargo, an independent Mexican digital news outlet.

Mexico City, October 21 (SinEmbargo).– Former prosecutor César Gustavo Jáuregui Moreno was formally charged with the crime of Treason, as a co-perpetrator and for allegedly intentional conduct. The Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) maintains that the former official consented to, authorized, and allowed the presence of two foreign individuals in the operation carried out in El Pinal, in the municipality of Morelos, Chihuahua, thereby allegedly putting at risk the sovereignty and independence of Mexico by attempting to subject the country to a foreign government.

However, Jáuregui’s defense asserts that there is no solid, video, or documentary evidence proving his participation. It also argues that, under the same logic with which the Attorney General’s Office seeks to attribute responsibility to the former prosecutor, the Governor of Chihuahua, María Eugenia Campos Galván, must also be investigated to determine what she knew about the operation and whether she bore any responsibility. For the defense, it is even imperative that the state governor be called to testify.

“If we are going to enter that terrain, then it would also be necessary to investigate whether the head of the Executive had knowledge of the operation,” attorney Héctor Villasana said in an interview with SinEmbargo, after the hearing for the formulation of charges, which lasted at least eight hours.

For the attorney, who is part of the former prosecutor’s defense team, the Governor’s public statements, made on October 14 on Latinus, in which she held Jáuregui and other officials of the state prosecutor’s office responsible for acting without her knowledge, make it necessary for the FGR to take her testimony and contrast her versions with the other elements of the investigation.

“I think what the Attorney General’s Office would have to do is summon the Governor, as a result of these statements she made, in which she changed her version, and make her appear through the mechanisms,” Villasana said.

Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos speaks at a podium at a 'Yo con Maru' event
César Jáuregui’s defense asked that Maru Campos, Governor of Chihuahua, be summoned to testify about the presence of the CIA in the state. Photo: Cuartoscuro

The attorney noted that, as far as he knew, Campos Galván had not testified before the FGR regarding the presence of agents of the United States (US) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the operation in the Sierra Tarahumara. He recalled that she was summoned on May 27, but did not give a statement because, as was reported at the time, she questioned the conditions of the summons.

The defense also considered that the investigation must look more deeply into the chain of command and into what the various officials may have known about the participation of the foreigners. Nevertheless, Villasana insisted that the charge against Jáuregui is not supported, from his perspective, by evidence showing that he authorized or consented to the presence of the agents.

“The concrete thing here is that the accusation against Prosecutor César Jáuregui is not based on any piece of evidence that concludes that he participated in, consented to, or authorized the presence of these people,” he stressed.

The Hearing: 150 Pieces of Evidence Presented

The charge against Jáuregui is based, according to what his attorney set out, on Article 123, section I, of the Federal Penal Code, which covers the crime of Treason.

During the hearing, the FGR presented close to 150 pieces of evidence, including witness statements, expert opinions, and analyses. The Attorney General’s Office says that the then head of the Chihuahua State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) allowed the presence of two foreign individuals in the operation against an alleged drug lab in El Pinal.

Former Chihuahua prosecutor César Jáuregui surrounded by reporters
César Jáuregui, former prosecutor of Chihuahua, is accused of the crime of Treason. Photo: Manuel Sánchez, Cuartoscuro

The accusation argues that, with that conduct, Jáuregui put at risk the sovereignty and independence of the Republic by attempting to subject it to a foreign government.

Villasana explained that the Attorney General’s Office attributes to his client an intentional participation and as a co-perpetrator, not a responsibility derived solely from an omission.

“No, no, no. The accusation is as intentional and as co-perpetrator. He came to an agreement. That is, co-perpetration implies that there is a prior concert and agreement between the parties to commit a crime. So that is how the accusation stands,” he clarified.

They Point to the Deceased Director of the AEI

The defense strategy, according to what the attorney laid out, will focus on maintaining that, so far, all the evidence presented by the FGR indicates that the direct relationship with the U.S. agents belonged solely to Pedro Román Oseguera Cervantes, then director of the State Investigation Agency (AEI).

Oseguera Cervantes was one of the four people who died in the rollover that occurred in Polanco, after the deployment related to the operation.

It should be noted that among the elements presented by the FGR’s Public Prosecutor were some of the reports submitted by Wendy Chávez, head of the Specialized Unit that Maru Campos created to investigate the case.

In this regard, it is important to recall that on May 12, in a second report of the state investigation, it was stated that CIA agents had visited the facilities of the Strategic Operations Prosecutor’s Office at least twice, including hours before the operation, and that one of them was carrying a firearm.

Villasana stated that the photographic records and witness statements place the foreigners at the facilities of the State Investigation Agency and not at the central offices of the Attorney General’s Office, where Jáuregui worked.

“The entire investigation concludes that the meetings and the visits and the presence of these people took place at the offices of the General Directorate of the State Investigation Agency. The State Investigation Agency is about 10 kilometers away, it is on the way out of the city of Chihuahua [the exit to Ciudad Aldama], and the central offices of the Attorney General’s Office, where the Attorney General works, are downtown, right next to the Government Palace,” he clarified.

Based on these elements, the defense maintains that it must be clarified who coordinated the presence of the agents, which officials maintained communication with them, and who had knowledge of their participation in the operation.

“So, never, there is no piece of evidence, there is no video, there is no log, there is absolutely nothing that proves there was a meeting between Mr. Jáuregui and these people,” he stated.

The attorney insisted that the investigation must look more deeply into the conduct of those who, according to the evidence presented, had contact with the foreign agents.

It will be up to the Attorney General’s Office to investigate whether, under this same scheme of omission, the Governor could bear serious responsibility.

Héctor Villasana, Jáuregui’s defense attorney

As for former prosecutor Guillermo Zuany, Villasana said that participation is also attributed to him for having been director of Operations of the Strategic Operations Unit.

The attorney indicated that Zuany maintained communication with Oseguera Cervantes, since he had recently left the Directorate of the State Investigation Agency, after the Governor appointed him head of the Strategic Operations Unit and designated Oseguera as director of the Agency.

“The meetings between them are, in a way, logical and understandable for following up on pending matters in this transition,” he noted.

After a hearing that lasted at least eight hours, the defense requested the doubling of the constitutional term to prepare its arguments before it is determined whether Jáuregui will be bound over for trial.

The Judge set the continuation of the hearing for Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Because the crime charged carries mandatory pretrial detention, the former prosecutor must remain in jail while his legal situation is resolved, according to what his attorney said.

Judge Submitted Her Resignation

Villasana also confirmed that the arrest warrant against the former Chihuahua prosecutor, César Jáuregui Moreno, was issued by federal Judge Mariana Vieyra Valdez, assigned to the Federal Criminal Justice Center of Almoloya de Juárez, who, as was reported during the hearing, had submitted her resignation.