(CNN) -- Federal authorities were investigating Friday the circumstances of a drone that crashed in El Paso, Texas, this week, which U.S. officials said originated in Mexico.
Mexican Attorney General spokeswoman Rocio Torres denied her country's involvement with the drone Friday, but later in the day, another Mexican official said the drone was being operated by the Ministry of Public Security and was following a target at the time of the mechanical malfunction.
The Mexican official did not know the nature of the surveillance but said "we know they were following a target". He did not know how the malfunction affected that operation, if at all.
Ricardo Alday, a spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in the United States, also said the drone belonged to Mexico and was part of an operation in coordination with the U.S. government.
"It was flying on the Mexican side of the border when it had a mechanical malfunction," Alday said. "It is my understanding both Mexican and U.S. authorities were fully cognizant of what was going on in the area".
Alday said the drone malfunctioned, entered U.S. airspace and landed in El Paso. CNN
