Original (en)

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat  Following the controversy sparked by the presence of CIA agents in Chihuahua—a presence revealed by the deaths of two agents in a road accident—the state government is currently assessing the legal propriety of allowing U.S. security agencies to be stationed on the 18th floor of the Centinela Tower. As recently as April 13, Chihuahua’s Secretary of Public Security, Gilberto Loya, announced that U.S. personnel would be stationed on that specific floor of the agency’s headquarters building with the aim of improving coordination and information sharing—a stance that has since shifted. “Nothing has been finalized yet, but yes, that was indeed supposed to be the idea,” Adrián Eduardo Chavira, Undersecretary for the Centinela Platform, told *MILENIO*. For their part, state officials confirmed to this media outlet that the legal and logistical feasibility of the project was indeed being analyzed. What is known about the Centinela Tower? Against this backdrop, Gilberto Loya sidestepped confirming the stationing of U.S. agencies within the tower, limiting his remarks to stating that all operations are being conducted in strict accordance with established coordination protocols. “The key issue here is collaboration—as the President [Claudia Sheinbaum] herself stated: ‘Collaboration is a legal practice,’ provided that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is represented in all our meetings. This applies to all working groups—since we operate under the Border Security Protocol program—which include the participation of all relevant authorities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs among them,” he replied when questioned on the matter, before abruptly taking his leave. Doubts regarding the presence of agencies from that country within this tower—a structure that has been a source of controversy since its very construction—have intensified following the deaths of two CIA agents who had participated in an operation to dismantle a drug laboratory in Ch