Mexico's Chihuahua State Security Overhaul After US Terror Designation

Ulises Lara López, former chief prosecutor in Mexico City, intervened to prevent the detention of former Chihuahua governor Javier Corral at a restaurant in August 2024. In January 2026 he was appointed head of the Special Investigation Unit for Relevant Matters at the Federal Attorney General's Office (FGR) and announced a probe into the involvement of two United States agents in a recent anti‑narcotics operation in the Sierra of Chihuahua.

State Secretary of Government Santiago De la Peña said that Chihuahua’s security situation differs from that of Sinaloa or Michoacán, crediting Governor Maru Campos for a strategy that invests in technology, police training, and equipment. He stressed that the state does not align with organized crime, referencing the U.S. Treasury Department’s recent designation of the Juárez cartel as a terrorist organization.