Mexico’s treason law spans investigations and political accusations

Reporting and context

The arrest of former Chihuahua attorney general César Jáuregui Moreno has renewed attention to Mexico’s treason law and its use in cases involving alleged unauthorized cooperation with foreign authorities, according to Proyecto Puente. The outlet reported that federal investigators linked his case to a security operation in which U.S. Central Intelligence Agency personnel allegedly took an active role in Mexico without authorization.

Proyecto Puente reported that Article 123 of the Federal Penal Code covers specified acts against Mexico’s independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity involving foreign interests. Its account describes conduct ranging from facilitating an invasion or espionage to unauthorized disclosure of military information. The applicable offense depends on the conduct and the conditions set out in the law.

The explainer gives a penalty range of five to 40 years in prison and fines of up to 50,000 pesos for certain acts of treason. Other provisions carry different penalties: five to 20 years and up to 25,000 pesos for specified offensive alliances that provoke war against Mexico, and two to 12 years with fines of 1,000 to 20,000 pesos for inciting acceptance of an invasion, foreign protectorate or government imposed by an invader. It also notes that Article 108 of the Constitution allows the president to be charged and tried for treason.

A separate investigation concerns Joaquín Guzmán López, son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The outlet says federal prosecutors sought an arrest warrant in 2024 for alleged kidnapping and treason over Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada’s transfer to the United States. Prosecutors linked that case to the provision concerning unlawful detention in Mexico to deliver a person to foreign authorities.

The report traces earlier cases to 1945, when federal legislators were detained over alleged irregularities involving the Bracero temporary-worker program. They spent eight months in Lecumberri before obtaining release through Supreme Court amparo rulings. In 2003, a Chihuahua court sought the arrest of 60 municipal police and customs-inspection personnel accused of handing 15 Mexicans to the FBI without the required proceedings.

Other examples had different procedural outcomes. Proyecto Puente describes Flavio Sosa’s complaint against former President Felipe Calderón as having produced no formal charges. It says allegations involving former President Enrique Peña Nieto and Luis Videgaray in the Odebrecht case had not advanced legally in the account it reviewed.

In September 2021, Morena senators accused PAN colleagues of treason after they received Spanish VOX leader Santiago Abascal at the Senate. The outlet says that political accusation was not formalized in a complaint to federal prosecutors and had no legal consequences. Its historical survey distinguishes such public accusations from criminal investigations and court decisions under the current law.

Original reporting: Proyecto Puente.