Americans shot in Mexico are CIA Agents

By LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | AUGUST 30, 2012

Two U.S. agents were wounded on Friday during a shooting with the Mexican Federal Police work for the CIA. This was reported by then The New York Times, adding that the employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, riding on a vehicle with diplomatic plates  were allegedly sent to Mexico by the United States under a training program to support the fight against drug trafficking.

Twelve Mexican federal police have been arrested in connection with the investigation into the shooting of the car, in which the CIA agents — one of whom drove the car — were accompanied by a Mexican navy captain. The three men were allegedly going to a shooting range located near the town of Tres Marias, which is about 50 kilometers south of the capital. The armored vehicle was shot 40 times when the driver tried to flee from gunfire.

The agents were identified by the newspaper El Universal as Jess Hods Garner and Stan Garner Dove Boss, already left the country and did not testified before Mexican authorities. “First they have to be in proper condition for being able to do so. Their testimony will be taken in due course once the conditions are best,” said Marisela Morales, who emphasized that Mexico has “the full cooperation of the U.S. government. ”

Although the U.S. embassy spoke of an “ambush” scenario, a US official quoted by The New York Times say there is no evidence that the intelligence agents were a target for the perpetrators of the shooting, some of whom were in plain clothes. The CIA has refused to comment. The President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón, has promised a thorough investigation. Mr. Calderón has “cooperated” with the US in supposed counter narcotics operations. Programs such as the Merida Initiative, with a budget of 1,600 million dollars (about 1,300 million euros), are said to provide training and equipment to Mexico’s federal police to allegedly fight drug cartels.

There have been three reported in the history of American diplomats in Mexico. On February 15, 2011, a car carrying two agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement was attacked in San Luis Potosi (northeastern region). The incident killed the U.S. agent Jaime Zapata. The perpetrator of the crime was, according to official reports, a member of Los Zetas. The previous event, on March 14, 2010, ended with the death of an employee of the consulate in Ciudad Juarez (north of Mexico). In 1985 an agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Bureau (DEA) Enrique Camarena Salazar died in Michoacan (central Mexico) shot by alleged Mexican drug traffickers.

The arrest of the 12 agents threatens to deteriorate even more the record of the Mexican Federal Police, considered by President Calderón as a model institution. On June 25, 2012, three members of the MFP were murdered by some of his colleagues at the International Airport of Mexico City.