After two weeks of speculation and investigation, it is still unclear why Mexican federal police officers opened fire on two alleged CIA agents inside a U.S. embassy vehicle in the state of Morelos last month.
The 12 policemen allegedly responsible for the attack on Friday, August 24 have been arrested and can be held for up to 40 days of questioning under Mexican law, while the two American victims – identified as CIA operatives by the New York Times and several Mexican media outlets – have returned to the United States.
They were named last week by Noticias MVS as Jess Hoods Garner and Stan Dove Boss, retired military officials who now work as private contractors providing training in countries with high levels of violence, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. government has not confirmed their identities, nor whether they were working for the CIA. On the night of the attack the U.S. embassy in Mexico issued a short statement acknowledging the day’s events, but there has been no official comment from Washington on the case.
“I deeply regret these events,” President Felipe Calderon told U.S. Ambassador Anthony Wayne last week. Calderon promised a full and thorough investigation by the federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR), but gave little explanation for the events, leaving many unanswered questions.When the incident took place the unarmed U.S. pair were traveling in the front seats of an armored Toyota SUV with diplomatic plates, with a Mexican naval officer who served as liaison and translator in the backseat.
Having turned off the highway from Mexico City to Cuernavaca, they were driving down a dirt road toward El Capulin naval base in the mountainous Xalatlaco region. According to a report from the PGR, apparently based on testimony from the two Americans, they were involved in a training program at a firing range in the base.
At around 8 a.m. they were confronted near the town of Tres Marias, Morelos by a group of heavily armed but non-uniformed federal police in an unmarked Dodge van. Two of the gunmen reportedly approached the Toyota to check from up-close who was inside, before the American driver reversed in an attempt to escape.
Their assailants opened fire on the Toyota and chased it back toward the highway, before more plain-clothes policemen in a Nissan Sentra tried to block the Americans’ path.
Two more civilian vehicles full of plain-clothes officers joined the chase and began shooting at the Toyota as it passed a gas station, while a fifth vehicle was awaiting for the Americans when they reached the junction to rejoin the highway.
Here the Toyota became immobilized, with three of its tires shot out. Photos show the car riddled with bullets, especially in the front-side windows.
At this point, both Americans received bullet wounds. One was hit in the leg and the other in the stomach and hand. They only survived because their vehicle was fitted with level-seven armor, the highest available. The Navy officer accompanying them was not hurt.
The aggressors did not stop shooting until three federal police vehicles arrived at the scene. Shouting from within the Toyota, the pair identified themselves as U.S. diplomats and a uniformed officer ordered the plain-clothes agents to lower their weapons.
One of the wounded Americans was lifted into the back of a federal police vehicle and taken to hospital. The Navy officer in the Toyota had called for help from the nearby base and Navy personnel arrived to seal off the area, with the plain-clothes police having apparently already fled the scene.
According to Mexican daily Milenio, a preliminary report from the ongoing investigation indicates that there were at least 15 plainclothes policemen involved in the ambush. The report reveals the Toyota was hit by at least 136 bullets from AR-15 and AK-47 assault rifles. The latter is not a standard-issue police weapon in Mexico and is more commonly used by drug gangs.
The federal police officers involved were investigating a kidnapping that occurred in the area just hours before the shooting, according to Luis Cardenas Palomino, regional security chief of the federal police. But this does not explain why they would choose to open fire on a vehicle with diplomatic plates, especially if there were a possibility that the victim of a kidnapping was inside.
Their motivation for the ambush remains unclear, as does the exact role of the CIA agents in Mexico. The New York Times revealed the presence of CIA personnel at Mexican military bases in August 2011, while the same newspaper reported that the two agents in this case were “sent as part of a multil-agency effort to bolster Mexican efforts to fight drug traffickers.”
There are serious concerns over the reliability of Mexico’s federal police in the war on drugs. The Mexican government recently announced it has replaced 348 federal officers at Mexico City airport, in light of the shooting of three officers by their coworkers in the food court on June 25. Both groups of officers are suspected of involvement in trafficking drugs through the terminal.