Borderland Beat
The SUV's Level Seven Armour Saved the lives of the Three Wounded Men
Reforma reports that officials close to the case reported the shooting of a an SUV with diplomatic plates and U.S. officials by Mexican federal police agents have confirmed that the two Americans shot were, in fact, CIA agents. They were apparently on their way to give shooting lessons to members of the Mexican military. They were also, apparently, initially attacked by civilians in a Dodge Van…12 Mexican officers were ordered held for at least 40 days while investigators sort out what the embassy called an “ambush.”
CIA
American agents who were shot last Friday, along with a Captain of the Marina of Mexico, as they headed to the shooting range and Marines Infantry training field located Xalatlaco area, belong to the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA, for its acronym in English), confirmed official sources close to the investigation, which added that the attack took place after the attackers were in close view of the diplomatic vehicle occupants.
According to the obtained information by this newspaper, the aggression against the American agents and of the marine was direct and the fact that there were no fatal victims, it was because the Toyota SUV they were travelling in was amour grade 7 ( highest level).
The reports given the same day of the incident, which occurred near Tres Marias, Morelos, the U.S. embassy reported that it had been an ambush , while the Federal Police said it had been a confusion .
Interception
The information from the Attorney General's Office (PGR) said that the CIA agents who were to conduct follow up shooting courses at the Marine Corps Training Field. As they traveled in the stretch of dirt known as El Capulin, in Xalatlaco, Mexico State, they encountered a Dodge Van with several heavily armed civilians who, at gunpoint, forced them to stop.
While not aiming their weapons, two of them approached the Toyota. , Suddenly, the driver of the U.S. embassy vehicle abruptly threw the vehicle in reverse while turning it around then sped to the federal highway with the gunmen shooting at the vehicle in full pursuit.
The pursuit grows
During the pursuit a second vehicle, a Sentra, appeared attempting to block the embassy vehicle, while four gumen in the Sentra opened fire with heavy artillery.
During the chase, and with two vehicles in pursuit, they passed through a village near a junction, where eight plainclothes men in two vehicles, joined the Toyota aggression and also began firing weapons.
Now chased by four cars, and U.S. agents tried to signal Marines at a gas station, but after failing the pursuit continued. When reaching the junction there awaited a fifth vehicle, that joined the chase and also began shooting.
Once in the federal highway, because of the impact damage, the Toyota was immobilized and yet still sustaining shots of high-caliber weapons. One of the assailants with an AK-47 (cuerno de chivo/goat horn) blasted the armored diplomatic vehicle. It was during the attack with the AK47 when U.S. agents were injured, they were in the front seats and the Marina officer in the rear.
The informant added that directly after the shooting ceased three Federal Police vehicles arrived at the scene.
Federal agents got out of their patrol cars with weapons drawn. One of them approached the Toyota and was when officers identified themselves as U.S. diplomats.
Fourteen federal officers involved in the attack have been detained and transfered to a Mexico City prison for a 40 day hold, until the investigation can clarify exactly what occurred. In the photo above families of the officers involved are protesting this action.
Sources: La Jornada & Reforma
